UC-NRLF 


THE  NORTHEASTERN 

BOUNDARY 


SPRAGUE 


LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA. 


Class 


Joirx  FAI  i:i'i  i:u> 
GOVFHXOH  oi    MAIM:,   1  Slif) 


The  North   Eastern   Boundary 

Controversy  and  the 

Aroostook  War 


BY  JOHN  FRANCIS  SPRAGUE 


Dover,  Maine 
The  Observer  Press 


The  foot-note  pp.  12-13  refers  to  the  report  of  the  commissioners 
made  October  25,  1798. 


£398 


The  North  Eastern  Boundary  Contro 
versy  and  the  Aroostook  War 

By  John  Francis  Sprague 

A  SERIOUS  disagreement  existed  between  the 
United  States  and  Great  Britain  from  the  treaty 
of  peace  (1783)  to  the  Webster-Ashburton  treaty 
(1842),  respecting  the  boundary  line  between  what  is 
now  and  was  in  1842,  the  State  of  Maine  and  Canada, 
and  known  in  history  as  the  Northeast  Frontier. 

In  tracing  back  to  the  sources  of  this  contention, 
which  was  acute  for  more  than  a  half  century,  it 
seems  to  me  that  two  causes  were  among  the  earliest  and 
most  predominating  which  led  up  to  the  general  confu 
sion. 

The  first  was  the  fact  that  the  English  sovereigns 
were  very  ignorant  of  American  geography  and  were 
perpetually  making  grants  of  lands  irreconciliably  and 
often  grotesquely  conflicting,  and  the  second  was  the 
instinctive  desire  of  the  Anglo  Saxon  to  possess  himself 
of  all  of  the  territory  of  this  earth  within  his  reach. 

In  1493,  Alexander  VI,  Pope  of  Rome,  issued  a  bull, 
granting  the  New  World,  which  Columbus  had  discov 
ered,  to  the  sovereigns  of  Spain  and  Portugal. 

In  that  age  a  papal  bull  was  generally  regarded  by 
Christian  nations  as  a  sufficient  title  to  heathen  lands, 
and  under  this  title  Spain  claimed  the  entire  North 
American  coast  from  Cape  Florida  to  Cape  Breton. 


221044 


w 

France,  although  a  Catholic  nation,  was  in  unison 
with  England,  which  had  then  become  Protestant,  in 
protesting  against  such  an  exclusive  and  unfair  grant. 

So  far  as  there  was  an  issue  between  England  and 
Spain  about  American  territory  it  was  settled  by  Sir 
Francis  Drake  in  1588,  by  the  victory  over  the  Spanish 
Armada  in  the  British  Channel,  which  has  been  the  scene 
of  so  many  famous  naval  battles  and  where  so  much  of 
the  world's  history  has  been  made. 

But  England  had  not  submitted  to  the  slow  process  of 
waiting  for  the  God  of  battles  to  determine  her  rights 
by  discovery  and  conquest  as  they  then  stood  in  the 
western  hemisphere.  In  1495-6,  three  years  after  its 
discovery  and  before  Columbus  had  seen  it,  Henry  VII, 
King  of  England,  issued  a  commission  to  John  Cabot 
and  his  sons,  "to  seek  out,  discover  and  find  whatsoever 
Isles,  Countries,  Regions  or  Provinces  of  the  heathens 
and  infidels"  hitherto  unknown  to  all  Christians,  and, 
as  vassals  of  the  king,  to  hold  the  same  by  his  authority. 

In  1502,  the  same  king  issued  authority  to  Hugh 
Eliot  and  Thomas  Ashurst  to  discover  and  take  possession 
of  the  "Islands  and  Continents"  in  America. 

As  early  as  1524  and  many  years  before  England  had 
actually  asserted  jurisdictional  rights  on  this  continent, 
Francis  I,  King  of  France,  doubted  the  "clause  in 
Adam's  will"  which  made  this  continent  the  incontro 
vertible  possession  of  "his  brothers  of  Spain  and  Portu 
gal"  and  sent  out  discoverers  and  explorers,  who  explored 
the  entire  coast  from  the  thirtieth  to  the  fiftieth  degree 
of  latitude,  and  named  the  whole  region  New  France. 

Ten  years  later  Jacques  Quartier,  known  in  English 
history  as  "Cartier,"  commissioned  by  the  same  king, 
made  several  voyages  to  America  and  took  possession  of 
Canada.  The  French  government  maintained  it  ever 
after  until  its  titles  were  lost  by  treaties  and  conquest. 


[5] 

On  the  8th  of  November,  1603,  Henry  IV,  King  of 
France,  appointed  Pier  de  Monts,  his  lieutenant-general, 
in  the  country,  territories,  coast  and  limits  of  Cadia, 
(la  Cadia)  since  called  Acadia,  commencing  at  the  fortieth 
degree  and  thence  to  the  forty-sixth  degree. 

By  charter  of  the  10th  of  September,  1621,  James  I 
granted  to  Sir  William  Alexander,  a  certain  territory, 
under  the  name  of  "Nova  Scotia,"  with  the  following 
boundaries  :*  "Beginning  at  Cape  Sable,  in  forty-three 
degrees  north  latitude,  or  thereabout,  extending  thence 
westwardly  along  the  seashore,  to  the  road  commonly 
called  St.  Mary's  Bay;  thence  towards  the  north  by  a 
direct  line  crossing  the  entrance  or  mouth  of  that  great 
ship  road,  which  runs  into  the  eastern  tract  of  land 
between  the  territories  of  the  Souriquois  and  of  the 
Etchemins,  (Bay  of  Fundy)  to  the  river  commonly 
called  St.  Croix,  and  to  the  most  remote  spring  or 
source,  which,  from  the  western  part  thereof,  first 
mingles  itself  with  the  river  aforesaid;  from  thence,  by 
an  imaginary  direct  line,  which  may  be  conceived  to 
stretch  through  the  land,  or  to  run  towards  the  north,  to 
the  nearest  road,  river  or  spring  emptying  itself  into  the 
great  river  de  Canada  (River  St.  Lawrence) ;  and  from 
thence  proceeding  eastwardly  along  the  seashores  of  the 
said  river  de  Canada,  to  the  river,  road,  port,  or  shore, 
commonly  known  and  called  by  the  name  of  Gachepe  or 
Gaspe;  and  thence  south- eastwardly  to  the  islands 
called  Baccaleos  or  Cape  Breton,  leaving  these  islands  on 
the  right  and  the  gulf  of  the  said  river  de  Canada  or  of 
the  great  ship  road  and  the  lands  of  Newfoundland,  with 
the  islands  to  the  same  pertaining,  on  the  left;  and 
thence  to  the  head  land  or  promontory  of  Cape  Breton 
aforesaid,  lying  near  the  latitude  of  forty-five  degrees,  or 
thereabout;  and  from  the  said  promontory  of  Cape 
Breton,  towards  the  south  and  west,  to  Cape  Sable  afore- 


[6] 

said,  where  the  perambulation  began,  ***** 
all  which  lands  aforesaid,  shall  at  all  times  hereafter  be 
called  and  known  by  the  name  of  Nova  Scotia,  or  New 
Scotland,  in  America. ' ' 

Albert  Gallatin  in  his  introduction  to  "The  Right  of 
the  United  States  of  America  to  the  North  Eastern 
Boundary  Claimed  by  Them,"  (1840)  says: 

"The  western  boundary  thereby  assigned  to  Nova 
Scotia  differs  from  the  eastern  boundary  of  the  United 
States,  as  described  by  the  treaty  of  peace  of  1783,  in 
the  following  particulars. 

"1st.  The  western  source  of  the  river  St.  Croix  was 
intended  by  Sir  William  Alexander's  charter;  but  by 
the  treaty  of  1788,  the  said  river  from  its  mouth  to  its 
source,  without  particularly  designating  which  source,  is 
made  the  boundary ;  and  this  has  been  decided  to  be  the 
river  from  its  mouth  to  the  source  of  its  north  branch. 

"2nd.  The  line  from  the  source  of  the  River  St. 
Croix,  is,  according  to  the  charter,  to  run  towards  the 
north ;  (versus  septentrionem ;)  by  the  treaty,  it  must 
run  due  north,  or  directly  north. 

"3rd.  The  said  line,  by  the  charter,  extends  to  the 
river  St.  Lawrence,  and,  by  the  treaty,  to  the  highlands 
dividing  the  rivers,  &c. " 

On  the  3d  of  April,  1639,  Charles  I  granted  to 
Ferdinand  Gorges,  by  the  name  of  Province  or  Country 
of  Maine,  a  territory  bounded  on  the  west  by  Piscata- 
way  Harbor  and  the  river  Newichewanocke,  (Piscataqua 
River)  to  the  farthest  head  thereof,  and  thence  one  hun 
dred  and  twenty  miles  northwestwards,  extending  from 
Piscataway  Harbor,  northeastwards,  along  the  seacoast 
to  Sagadahock,  (the  river  Kennebec  below  the  confluence 
of  the  river  Androscoggin, )  and  up  the  river  thereof  to 
Kynybecky  River,  and,  through  the  same,  to  the  head 
thereof,  and  into  the  land  northwestwards  one  hundred 


m 

and  twenty  miles  from  the  mouth  of  Sagadahock,  Etc. 

This  last  named  grant  was  purchased  in  the  year  1 674, 
by  the  Colony  of  Massachusetts. 

By  the  twelfth  article  of  the  treaty  of  Utrecht,  in 
1713,  "the  Most  Christian  King  of  France"  ceded  to 
the  Queen  of  England  in  perpetuity  Acadia  or  Nova 
Scotia  entire,  "according  to  its  ancient  boundaries,"  Etc. 

But  what  its  "ancient  boundaries"  were  was  for 
nearly  fifty  years  after  the  treaty  of  Utrecht  a  matter  of 
dispute  between  England  and  France  and  more  especially 
between  the  pioneers  and  settlers  of  New  France,  and  the 
Massachusetts  Colony  and  the  inhabitants  of  the  Province 
of  Maine,  who  had  settled  east  of  the  Kennebec  River. 

The  Governor  of  New  France  contended  that  the 
ancient  bounds  of  Acadia  extended  as  far  west  as  the 
Kennebec  River  under  the  grant  of  Charles  I  to  Gorges, 
and  had  never  been  changed  by  any  act  of  England. 

Attempts  at  a  settlement  were  made  between  the  two 
governments  at  various  times  but  the  results  were  futile. 

When  Wolfe  conquered  Quebec  in  1759,  all  of  Canada 
passed  to  the  domain  of  the  English  by  conquest  and  the 
minor  questions  of  boundary  lines  were  lost  sight  of. 

Incidental  to  this  long  contention  as  to  what  was  the 
westerly  line  of  Acadia,  was  the  destruction  of  the  Jesuit 
Mission  at  Norridgevvock  and  the  killing  of  its  missionary, 
Father  Sebastian  Rale,  in  1724,  by  the  Massachusetts 
colonists. 

Gallatin  in  the  work  above  referred  to,  in  speaking  of 
this  Gorges  grant  and  its  subsequent  purchase  by  the 
Colony  of  Massachusetts,  asserts  that  it  throws  no  light 
en  the  question  as  to  how  England  acquired  any  title  to 
the  territory  between  the  Kennebec  and  St.  Croix,  and 
says:  "Although  the  name  of  Maine  has  since  been 
extended  to  the  country,  eastwardly,  as  far  as  the  bounda 
ries  of  Nova  Scotia,  the  ancient  Province  of  Maine, 


[8] 

according  to  the  aforesaid  original  grant,  was  bounded 
on  the  east  by  the  river  Sadahock  or  Kennebec. " 

These  facts  are  only  referred  to  here,  parenthetically, 
for  the  purpose  of  calling  attention  to  the  generally 
chaotic  condition  of  the  sources  of  the  jurisdictional 
rights  of  England  in  the  Province  of  Maine,  at  the  time 
of  the  treaty  of  peace  in  1783. 

The  English  had  themselves,  whether  wrongfully  or 
rightfully,  whether  by  overt  acts  or  not,  made  permanent 
the  title  of  Massachusetts  to  the  Province  of  Maine  as  far 
east  as  the  St.  Croix  River,  but  how  far  north  it  extended 
was  another  matter  and  one  of  the  principal  causes  of  all 
the  trouble  between  the  people  of  Maine  and  New 
Brunswick  and  the  American  and  English  governments. 

In  the  several  treaties  between  France  and  England 
ceding  to  each  other  Acadia,  no  specific  mention  is  made 
of  boundaries,  so  the  student  is  obliged  to  rely  upon  the 
grants  from  the  English  crown  to  its  subjects  for  informa 
tion  as  to  what  was  the  original  intent  of  the  English 
,  government,  regarding  the  northerly  line  of  the  Province 
of  Maine. 

On  the  12th  day  of  March,  1663,  Charles  II  granted 
to  his  brother  James,  Duke  of  York,  "all  that  part  of 
the  main  land  of  New  England,  beginning  at  a  certain 
place,  called  or  known  by  the  name  of  St.  Croix  adjoin 
ing  to  New  Scotland  in  America,  and  from  thence  extend 
ing  along  the  sea  coast,  into  a  place  called  Pemaquin  or 
Pemaquid,  and  so  up  the  river  thereof  to  the  furtherest 
head  of  the  same  as  it  tendeth  northward  to  the  river  of 
Kennebec  and  so  up,  by  the  shortest  course,  to  the  river 
of  Canada,  northwards." 

All  authorities  agreed  that  the  name  "Maine"  at  some 
time  in  some  way  extended  over  all  the  above  described 
territory  and  that  the  river  Kennebec  was  what  was  in 


[9] 

the  ancient  maps  Sadahock,  and  that  "the  river  Canada" 
was  the  river  St.  Lawrence. 

October  7th,  1691,  William  and  Mary,  by  grant, 
annexed  to  the  charter  of  the  Massachusetts  Colony, 
Nova  Scotia,  the  ancient  Province  of  Maine,  and  Saga- 
dahock,  or  the  Duke  of  York's  grant,  containing  how 
ever,  this  proviso,  "and  it  is  our  royal  will  and  pleasure 
that  no  grants  of  any  lands  lying  or  extending  from  the 
river  Sagadahock  (Kennebec)  to  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence 
and  Canada  rivers,  (St.  Lawrence  River)  and  to  the  main 
sea  northward  and  eastward,  to  be  made  or  passed  by 
the  Governor  and  General  Assembly  of  our  said  Province, 
be  of  any  force,  validity,  or  effect,  until  we,  our  assigns 
and  successors  shall  have  signified  our  or  their  approba 
tion  of  the  same." 

This  grant  is  valuable  herein,  only  for  the  purpose  of 
showing  that  the  English  then  claimed  territory  as  far 
north  as  the  St.  Lawrence. 

There  does  not  seem  to  be  any  reason  for  this  grant  of 
Nova  Scotia  or  Acadia  to  Massachusetts,  which  had  been 
restored  to  France  by  the  treaty  of  Breda,  other  than  the 
fact  that  a  state  of  war  existed  between  the  nations  in 
1691. 

By  the  treaty  of  Ryswick,  (1697)  Great  Britain,  how 
ever,  agreed  to  restore  to  France  "all  countries,  islands, 
forts  and  colonies,  wheresoever  situated,  which  the 
French  did  possess  before  the  declaration  of  war. ' ' 

The  Massachusetts  Colony  asserted  jurisdiction  over 
all  of  that  part  of  the  Province  of  Maine  annexed  to 
their  charter  by  William  and  Mary,  which  was  situated 
east  of  the  Kennebec  River,  and  the  last  claim  of  the 
French  to  this  territory  was  extinguished  with  the 
destruction  of  the  Kennebec  Mission  in  1724. 

Subsequent  to  this  a  question  arose  among  the  colonists 
as  to  their  legal  title  to  the  territory  between  the  Kenne- 


[10] 

bee  and  St.  Croix,  which  was  referred  to  the  attorney 
and  solicitor  general  of  the  crown,  who  gave  it  as  their 
opinion  (Aug.  11,  1731)  "that  all  the  tract  of  land 
lying  between  the  rivers  of  Kennebec  and  St.  Croix,  is 
granted  by  their  charter  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  said 
Province;  that  the  rights  of  government  granted  to  the 
said  Province  extend  over  this  tract  of  land. ' ' 

In  Mitchell's  map  in  the  year  1755,  the  river  St. 
Croix,  in  accordance  with  their  decision,  and  a  due  north 
line  from  its  source  to  the  river  St.  Lawrence,  are  made 
the  boundary  between  Nova  Scotia  and  New  England. 

And  Gallatin  says  that  "in  this  map  the  river  St. 
Croix,  and  a  due  north  line  from  its  source  to  the  river 
St.  Lawrence,  are,  accordingly,  made  the  boundary 
between  Nova  Scotia  and  New  England;  embracing, 
under  this  last  designation,  the  eastern  part  of  Massa 
chusetts,  by  the  name  of  Sagadahock. ' ' 

Both  Nova  Scotia  and  New  England  are,  in  that  map, 
published  with  the  approbation  of  the  board  of  trade, 
bounded  to  the  north  by  the  river  St.  Lawrence.  And 
that  river  continued,  accordingly,  to  be  the  northern 
boundary  of  both,  till  the  7th  of  October,  1763;  when 
Canada,  and  all  the  possessions  claimed  by  France  in 
that  quarter,  having,  by  virtue  of  the  treaty  of  peace 
of  February,  1763,  been  definitively  ceded  by  her  to 
Great  Britain,  His  Britannic  Majesty  issued  a  proclama 
tion  establishing  new  governments,  and,  amongst  others, 
that  of  Quebec. 

The  boundaries  of  that  government  were,  by  the  said 
proclamation,  fixed  as  follows:  "Bounded  on  the  Labra 
dor  Coast  by  the  river  St.  John ;  and  from  thence,  by  a 
line  drawn  from  the  head  of  that  river,  through  the  Lake 
St.  John,  to  the  south  end  of  the  Lake  Nipissing,  from 
whence  the  said  line,  crossing  the  river  St.  Lawrence  and 
the  Lake  Charnplain,  in  forty-five  degrees  of  north  lati- 


[11] 

tude,  passes  along  the  Highlands  which  divide  the  rivers 
that  empty  themselves  into  the  said  river  St.  Lawrence 
from  those  which  fall  into  the  sea,  and  also  along  the 
north  coast  of  the  Bay  des  Chaleurs  and  the  Coast  of  the 
Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence,  to  Cape  Rosiers ;  and  from  thence, 
crossing  the  mouth  of  the  river  St.  Lawrence,  by  the 
west  end  of  the  island  of  Anticosti,  terminates  at  the 
aforesaid  river  St.  John. ' ' 

The  Highlands  designated  above  were  thus  assigned  as 
the  southern  boundary  of  the  province  of  Quebec  and 
became  the  northern  boundary  of  Nova  Scotia;  the 
northwest  corner  of  which,  instead  of  being,  as  hereto 
fore,  on  the  banks  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  was  thereby 
placed  on  the  Highlands. 

This  boundary  of  the  Province  of  Quebec  was  again 
ratified  by  the  British  government  by  the  act  of  Parlia 
ment  of  the  14th,  Geo.  Ill,  Chap.  83,  (1774)  commonly 
called  the  Quebec  Act. 

The  treaty  of  peace  between  the  Colonies  and  England 
at  the  close  of  the  war  of  the  Revolution  and  known  in 
history  as  the  treaty  of  1783,  provides — "And  that  all 
disputes,  which  might  arise  in  the  future  on  the  subject 
of  the  boundaries  of  the  said  United  States,  may  be 
prevented,  it  is  hereby  agreed  and  declared,  that  teh 
following  are  and  shall  be  their  boundaries,  viz:  From 
the  northwest  angle  of  Nova  Scotia,  viz:  that  angle 
which  is  formed  by  a  line  drawn  due  north  from  the 
source  of  the  St.  Croix  River,  to  the  Highlands,  which 
divide  those  rivers,  that  empty  themselves  into  the  river 
St.  Lawrence  from  those  which  fall  into  the  Atlantic 
Ocean,  to  the  northwesternmost  head  of  Connecticut 
River ;  east,  by  a  line  to  be  drawn  along  the  middle  of 
the  river  St.  Croix,  from  its  mouth  in  the  Bay  of  Fundy 
to  its  source;  and  from  its  source,  directly  north,  to  the 
aforesaid  Highlands,  which  divide  the  rivers  which  fall 


into  the  Atlantic  Ocean  from  those  that  fall  into  the 
river  St.  Lawrence." 

Subsequent  to  this  treaty  doubts  arose  as  to  which  was 
the  St.  Croix  River,  and  commissioners  were  appointed 

T     's  ~\'f~ 


ftf~yr  ~    __under    the    P^oj^ipJ^_^fi^s  fifth  article  who  declared  * 


October  5198  river  called  "Scoodiac,"  and 

the  northern  branch  of  it  (called  "Cheputnaticook")  to 
be  the  true  river  St.  Croix  as  intended  by  the  treaty, 
that  its  mouth  was  in  the  Bay  of  Passamaquoddy  at  a 
place  called  Joe's  Point,  and  its  source  at  the  northern 
most  head  spring  of  the  northern  branch  aforesaid. 

During  the  War  of  1812  the  British  seized  and  held 
Moose  Island  on  which  the  city  of  Eastport  now  stands, 
and  at  the  treaty  of  Ghent  they  refused  to  restore  it. 

It  was  generally  stipulated  that  all  territory,  places, 
and  possessions  taken  by  either  party  during  the  war 
should  be  restored,  and  it  was  specially  provided  that  such 
of  the  islands  in  Passamaquoddy  Bay  as  were  claimed  by 
both  parties,  should  remain  in  the  possession  of  the  party 
in  whose  occupation  they  might  be  at  the  time  of  the 
exchange  or  the  ratification  of  the  treaty,  without 
prejudice  to  either  party,  till  the  question  of  title  should 
be  settled.  For  such  a  settlement  Art.  IV  provided 
that  the  question  should  be  referred  to  two  commis 
sioners  to  be  appointed  by  the  two  governments. 

The  King  of  Great  Britain  appointed  Thomas  Barclay 
and  President  Madison  appointed  John  Holmes,  who  was 
a  resident  of  the  Province  or  District  of  Maine. 

Their  decision,  which  was  rendered  November  24, 
1817,  seems  to  have  been  acquiesced  in  by  all  parties 
and  with  a  few  exceptions  I  do  not  find  that  it  was  very 
seriously  criticised  by  the  writers  at  that  time.  * 

The  first  question  that  arose  before  these  commissioners  was, 
which  of  the  three  rivers  falling  into  the  Bay  of  Fundy  was  the  St. 
Croix  contemplated  by  the  treaty  of  1783. 


[13] 

It  was  well  understood  by  both  governments  that  the 
boundary  line  of  Nova  Scotia  was  left  very  indefinite  by 
the  treaty  of  1783,  but  as  there  were  but  few  settlers  on 
the  disputed  territory  and  but  little  business  or  com 
merce,  and  as  both  nations  were  engrossed  in  struggles 
with  each  other  of  more  consequence,  there  was  but  little 
controversy  about  it. 

The  fact  was,  however,  recognized  by  the  treaty  of 
Ghent  (1814)  and  they  made  provision  for  its  adjustment 

These  rivers  had  all  been  known  and  described  at  various  times  by 
the  name  of  St.  Croix.  The  most  easterly  had  likewise  been  called 
the  Magaquadavic ;  the  intermediate,  the  Schoodic;  the  most  west 
erly,  the  Cobscook. 

The  decision  of  the  commissioners  was  that  the  middle  river, 
known  sometimes  as  the  Schoodic,  was  the  true  St.  Croix  River.  It 
having  been  thus  fixed,  it  was  so  regarded  by  both  governments,  at 
the  treaty  of  Ghent,  and  in  the  proceedings  when  the  whole  matter 
was  finally  adjusted  by  the  Webster- Ashburton  treaty. 

It  has,  however,  been  the  opinion  of  students  of  history  who  have 
since  investigated  the  subject,  that  a  grave  error  was  committed,  by 
which  the  American  government,  and  ultimately  the  State  of  Maine, 
were  grossly  wronged,  that  if  the  subject  had  been  properly  con 
sidered  and  fairly  adjudicated,  the  easterly  river,  rather  than  the 
Schoodic  or  the  intermediate  river,  would  have  been  the  easterly 
boundary  of  the  State  of  Maine. 

Probably  no  man  in  the  days  of  this  controversy  gave  the  subject 
more  consideration  than  the  late  Col.  John  G.  Deane  of  Portland, 
and  formerly  of  Ellsworth.  He  was  a  leading  member  of  the  Legis 
lature  during  that  time  and  was  the  author  of  several  official  reports 
relating  to  the  North  Eastern  Boundary,  and  he  was  firmly  con 
vinced  that  the  commissioners  selected  the  wrong  river  for  the  St. 
Croix. 

By  this  blunder,  if  such  it  were,  Col.  Deane  estimated  that  the 
State  of  Maine  "lost  a  strip  of  territory  from  fifteen  to  twenty 
miles  in  breadth,  and  one  hundred  and  seventy-five  miles  in 
length." 

(See  a  sketch  of  the  life  of  John  G.  Deane,  Maine  Hist.  Coll. 
2d  Series,  Vol.  1,  p.  179.  "The  North  Eastern  Boundary,"  by 
Israel  Washburn,  Jr.,  read  before  the  Maine  Historical  Society, 
May  15,  1879.) 


[14] 

by  the  fifth  article  of  this  treaty,  a  part  of  which  is  as 
follows : 

"Whereas  neither  that  point  of  the  Highlands  lying 
due  north  from  the  source  of  the  River  St.  Croix,  arid 
designated  in  the  former  treaty  of  Peace  between  the 
two  Powers,  as  the  north-west  angle  of  Nova  Scotia,  nor 
the  north-western  most  head  of  the  Connecticut  River, 
has  yet  been  ascertained;  and  whereas  that  part  of  the 
boundary  line  between  the  Dominions  of  the  two  Powers, 
which  extends  from  the  source  of  the  River  St.  Croix, 
directly  north,  to  the  above-mentioned  north-west  angle 
of  Nova  Scotia ;  thence,  along  the  said  Highlands  which 
divide  those  rivers  that  empty  themselves  into  the  River 
St.  Lawrence  from  those  which  fall  into  the  Atlantic 
Ocean,  to  the  north-western  most  head  of  Connecticut 
River;  thence,  down  along  the  middle  of  that  river,  to 
the  forty-fifth  degree  of  north  latitude ;  thence,  by  a  line 
due  west,  on  said  latitude,  until  it  strikes  the  River 
Iroquois  or  Cataraquy,  has  not  yet  been  surveyed ;  it  is 
agreed  that  for  those  several  purposes,  two  Commissioners 
shall  be  appointed,  sworn  and  authorized  to  act,  &c. 
*******  rpne  sa-j  Commissioners  shall 
have  power  to  ascertain  and  determine  the  points  above 
mentioned,  in  conformity  with  the  provisions  of  the  said 
treaty  of  Peace  of  1783,  and  shall  cause  the  boundary 
aforesaid,  from  the  source  of  the  River  St.  Croix  to  the 
River  Iroquois  or  Cataraquy,  to  be  surveyed  and  marked 
according  to  the  said  provisions.  The  said  Commission 
ers  shall  make  a  map  of  the  said  boundary  and  annex  to 
it  a  declaration  under  their  hands  and  seals,  certifying  it 
to  be  the  true  map  of  the  said  boundary,  and  particular 
izing  the  latitude  and  longitude  of  the  north-west  angle 
of  Nova  Scotia,  of  the  north-western  most  head  of  Con 
necticut  River,  and  of  such  other  points  of  the  said 
boundary  as  they  may  deem  proper.  And  both  parties 


[15] 

agree  to  consider  such  map    and    declaration  as  finally 
and  conclusively  fixing  the  said  boundary." 

The  same  article  further  provided  for  a  reference  to  a 
friendly  sovereign  or  state,  in  the  event  of  the  commis 
sioners  being  unable  to  agree. 

The  two  governments  appointed  commissioners  con- 
formitory  with  this  provision,  namely,  George  III 
appointed  on  the  part  of  Great  Britain,  Thomas  Barclay, 
September  4,  1815,  and  President  Madison  appointed 
Cornelius  Van  Ness,  April  3,  1816.  Mr.  Van  Ness  was 
a  native  of  New  York  but  at  the  time  of  his  appoint 
ment  resided  in  Vermont,  and  it  appears  that  John 
Holmes,  wrho  was  one  of  the  commissioners  to  adjudicate 
in  regard  to  the  titles  of  the  islands  in  Passamaquoddy 
Bay,  also  acted  with  them.  Henry  H.  Orne  was 
appointed  secretary  to  this  commission.  Mr.  Orne,  who 
in  the  record  was  simply  described  as  "a  citizen  of  the 
United  States,"  was  presumably  Judge  Henry  Orne  of 
Boston,  from  whom  the  town  of  Orneville  in  the  county 
of  Piscataquis  derived  its  name. 

This  commission,  after  sitting  for  five  years,  could  not 
even  agree  on  a  plan  for  a  general  map  of  the  country 
exhibiting  the  boundaries  respectively  claimed  by  each 
party ;  much  less  could  they  settle  any  of  the  matters 
referred  to  them. 

They  accordingly  dissolved  and  made  separate  reports 
to  both  governments,  stating  the  points  on  which  they 
differed,  and  the  grounds  of  their  difference. 

Soon  after  the  close  of  the  War  of  1812,  settlements, 
not  only  in  the  northeastern  parts  of  the  Province  of 
Maine,  but  in  Nova  Scotia  and  Quebec  as  well,  began  to 
increase;  business  was  expanding  and  land  under  both 
flags  was  becoming  more  valuable. 

All  of  these  things  tended  to  reawaken  the  interest  in 


[16] 

the    question     of     boundary    lines     between     the    two 
dominions. 

Maine  became  a  state  in  1820,  and  by  the  Articles  of 
Separation  the  Commonwealth  of  Massachusetts  re 
served  to  herself  one  half  of  the  unincorporated  lands 
within  the  Province  of  Maine.  * 

Hence  not  only  the  inhabitants  of  eastern  Maine,  but 
both  of  these  states  were  intensely  interested  in  having 
the  matter  decided. 

Finally  the  statesmen  of  both  governments  concluded 
that  a  condition  had  arisen  which  made  it  necessary  to 
refer  the  points  of  difference  to  a  friendly  sovereign  under 
the  terms  of  the  treaty  of  Ghent ;  and  on  the  29th  day 
of  September,  1827,  a  convention  to  that  effect  was  con 
cluded. 

Consequently  in  1826,  Albert  Gallatin,  who  was  one 
of  the  commissioners  of  the  United  States  at  Ghent  in 
1814,  went  to  England  as  minister  of  the  United  States, 
charged  with  the  duty  of  arranging  various  questions  of 
difference  and  among  them  the  North  Eastern  Boundary. 
He  had  many  conferences  with  the  plenipotentiaries  rep 
resenting  that  government,  the  principal  result  of  which 
was  the  convention  to  refer  the  matter  to  a  friendly 
sovereign  under  the  provision  of  the  treaty  of  Ghent 
herein  before  referred  to. 

The  statements  of  the  United  States  were  prepared 
and  submitted  to  the  arbitrator  by  Mr.  Gallatin  who  had 
associated  with  him  Wm.  Pitt  Preble  of  Portland,  t 

*Act  of  Separation  passed  by  Legislature  of  Massachusetts  June 
19,  1819,  Sec.  1,  part  first. 

tWilliam  P.  Preble  was  a  resident  of  Portland  and  was  born  in 
York,  Me.,  November  27,  1T83,  and  died  October  11,  1857.  He  was 
graduated  from  Harvard  College  in  1806,  studied  law  with  Benjamin 
Hasey  at  Topsham  and  Mr.  Orr  in  Brunswick.  Practiced  law  in 
Alfred  and  Saco  before  he  removed  to  Portland  in  1818.  In  1814  he 


[17] 

It  was  stipulated  therein  that  Mitchell's  map,  by 
which  the  framers  of  the  treaty  of  1783  had  regulated 
their  j  oint  and  official  proceedings,  and  a  map  denomi 
nated  A,  had  been  agreed  upon  by  the  contracting 
parties,  as  a  delineation  of  the  water  courses  and  a 
general  outline  of  the  territory. 

The  King  of  the  Netherlands  was  selected  as  arbiter 
and  when  he  heard  the  case  of  the  high  contracting 
parties,  changes  of  magnitude  had  taken  place  in  both 
the  American  and  English  possessions  since  the  treaty  of 
1783. 

The  Province  of  Maine  was  independent  from  the 
mother  Commonwealth  of  Massachusetts  and  had  entered 
upon  her  career  as  a  sovereign  state  of  the  Union. 

Nova  Scotia  had  been  divided  and  a  new  province 
erected  called  New  Brunswick,  within  the  borders  of 
which  was  the  territory  about  which  the  contention  had 
arisen,  and  Quebec  had  been  made  into  two  provinces, 
then  known  as  Upper  Canada  and  Lower  Canada. 

The  task  imposed  upon  the  arbiter  was  an  onerous  one 
but  the  duties  were  plain  and  not  at  all  obscure. 

He  was  to  construe  the  provisions  of  the  treaty  of 
1783,  which  related  to  this  boundary,  and  make  a  deci 
sion  which,  if  ratified  by  the  two  governments,  would  be 
binding  upon  them. 

This  necessitated  his  making  findings  among  other 
things  as  to  the  following  questions : 

received  the  appointment  of  U.  S.  District  Attorney  from  President 
Madison. 

In  1820  he  was  selected  as  one  of  the  three  judges  composing  the 
highest  judicial  court  of  the  new  State  of  Maine. 

In  1828  he  resigned  from  the  bench  and  entered  upon  diplomatic 
service. 

President  Jackson  appointed  him  Minister  Plenipotentiary  to  The 
Hague,  and  he  was  serving  in  this  capacity  when  the  King  of  Hol 
land  rendered  his  decision.  He  was  in  various  ways  active  in  the 
affairs  of  the  North  Eastern  Boundary  question  until  its  final  settle 
ment  by  the  Webster-Ashburton  treaty. 


[18] 

1.  What  was  the  "north-west  angle  of  Nova  Scotia?" 

2.  The  "Source"  of  the  St.  Croix  River? 

3.  What    were    the    "Highlands,"    which     "divide 
those  rivers  that  empty  themselves  into  the  River  St. 
Lawrence  from  those  which  fall  into  the  Atlantic  Ocean?" 

4.  What    was    the   "Northwesternmost  head  of  the 
Connecticut  River?" 

Incidental  with,  or  subordinate  to  these  Avere  other 
questions  which  arose  in  the  investigations  and  discus 
sions  as  the  case  progressed  before  him,  but  I  regard  the 
foregoing  as  the  principal  or  leading  points  in  the  con 
troversy. 

It  was  undoubtedly  unfortunate  for  all  parties  to  this 
imbroglio,  that,  in  designating  the  northerly  boundary 
between  the  territory  of  Massachusetts  (Province  of 
Maine)  and  Nova  Scotia,  in  the  treaty  of  1783,  the 
term  "Highlands"  should  have  been  used.  It  was 
indefinite  and  susceptible  of  widely  different  construction. 
No  writer  has  since  maintained  or  even  insinuated  that 
the  word  was  placed  there  by  either  party  designedly  or 
for  any  ulterior  purpose. 

It  was  without  doubt,  purely  and  simply,  a  case  of 
careless  and  inconsiderate  use  of  language.  It  should 
be  observed  that  this  word  was  not  used  in  these  treaties 
except  in  the  sense  of  dividing  rivers,  and  that  in  the 
early  grants  the  intention  of  making  the  St.  Lawrence 
River  the  northerly  boundary  of  Maine  seemed  to  be 
apparent. 

This  was  the  position  taken  by  the  American  commis 
sioners  before  the  King  of  the  Netherlands,  and  it  was 
furthermore  contended  by  them  that,  taking  the  whole 
article  together,  the  word  "Highlands"  as  therein 
expressed,  referred  to  an  unexplored  country  and  was 
applicable  to  any  ground,  whatever  might  be  its  nature 
or  elevation,  along  which  the  line  dividing  the  rivers 


[19] 

should  be  found  to  pass;  and  that  the  fact  that  the 
ground  dividing  rivers  was  necessarily  more  elevated  than 
those  rivers  and  their  banks,  was  sufficient  to  entitle  it 
to  the  designation  of  "Highlands"  in  relation  to  those 
rivers. 

The  United  States  claimed  that  a  line  from  the  source 
of  the  river  St.  Croix  "directly  north"  reaches  a  ridge 
or  "Highland"  which  divides  tributary  streams  of  the 
St.  John  River,  which  falls  into  the  Bay  of  Fundy,  from 
the  waters  of  the  Ristigouche  River,  which  falls  through 
the  Bay  des  Chaleurs,  into  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence; 
that  this  line  crosses  no  other  rivers  for  a  distance 
exceeding  ninety  miles,  but  tributary  streams  of  the 
St.  John  and  that  river  itself.  And  furthermore  that 
it  was  not  necessary  to  find  any  continuous  range  of 
mountains,  but  continuous  land  which  divided  these 
rivers. 

To  be  exact  I  copy  the  following  from  Gallatin's  notes 
on  the  "American  line"  (page  17)  which  he  compiled 
from  the  statements  laid  before  the  King  of  the  Nether 
lands  : 

"At  about  ninety-seven  miles  from  the  source  of  the 
River  St.  Croix,  the  due  north  line  reaches  a  ridge  or 
Highland  which  divides  tributary  streams  of  the  River 
St.  John,  which  falls  into  the  Bay  of  Fundy,  from  the 
waters  of  the  River  Ristigouche,  which  falls  through  the 
Bay  des  Chaleurs,  into  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence.  And, 
in  its  further  north  course,  the  said  line,  after  crossing 
several  upper  branches  of  the  River  Ristigouche,  reaches, 
at  the  distance  of  about  140  miles  from  the  source  of 
the  River  St.  Croix  the  Highlands,  which  divide  the 
waters  of  the  said  River  Ristigouche  from  the  tributary 
streams  of  the  River  Metis,  which  falls  into  the  River 
St.  Lawrence.  It  is  clear  that  there  is  no  other  possible 
choice  but  between  those  two  places,  and  that  the  north- 


[20] 

west  angle  of  Nova  Scotia  must,  of  necessity,  be  found 
at  the  intersection  of  the  said  due  north  line  with,  either 
the  Highlands  which  divide  the  waters  of  the  River  St. 
John  from  those  of  the  River  Ristigouche,  or  the  High 
lands  which  divide  the  waters  of  the  River  Ristigouche 
from  those  of  the  River  Metis ;  since  there  is  no  other 
point,  through  the  whole  course  of  the  due  north  line, 
which  divides  any  other  waters  but  such  as  empty  them 
selves  into  the  same  river. 

"The  selection  between  those  two  dividing  Highlands 
evidently  depends  on  what  is  meant,  according  to  the 
treaty  of  1783,  by  rivers  that  empty  themselves  or  fall 
into  the  River  St.  Lawrence,  and  by  rivers  which  fall 
into  the  Atlantic  Ocean. 

"The  treaty  recognizes  but  two  classes  of  rivers.  The 
first  class  embraces  only  the  rivers  falling  into  a  river, 
designated  by  its  specific  name,  and  cannot  be  construed 
to  include  any  rivers  that  do  not  empty  themselves  into 
the  river  thus  specially  designated.  All  the  rivers,  met 
by  the  due  north  line,  which  do  not  actually  empty 
themselves  into  the  River  St.  Lawrence,  according  to  its 
known  limits,  are,  by  the  treaty,  considered  as  falling 
into  the  Atlantic  Ocean." 

The  British  theory  from  first  to  last  was  that  "High 
lands"  represented  a  mountainous  or  hilly  country  or 
district. 

They  would  not  admit  its  American  significance  as  a 
continuous  line  dividing  rivers  regardless  of  whether  such 
line  was  mountainous  or  not. 

There  may  have  been  some  reason  for  this  as  they  had 
been  familiar  with  the  term  as  applied  to  a  region  of 
Highlands  in  Scotland  which  distinguished  it  from  the 
Lowlands,  Etc. 

Their  writers  from  time  immemorial  had  thus  described 
sections  which  were  of  high  elevation  and  had  not  gener- 


[21] 

ally  used  the  worpl  in  the  American  sense  as  a  dividing 
line,  a  ridge  or  a  range. 

In  the  same  notes  (page  18)  Mr.  Gallatin  says: 

"It  is  denied  on  the  part  of  Great  Britain,  that  the 
boundary  thus  claimed  by  the  United  States,  is  that 
which  is  prescribed  or  intended  by  the  treaty  principally, 
if  not  exclusively,  on  two  grounds: 

"1st.  That  the  Bay  of  Fundy,  as  mentioned  in  the 
treaty  of  1783,  is,  (as  well  as  the  Gulf  of  St.  Law 
rence,)  intended  to  be  separate  and  distinct  from  the 
Atlantic  Ocean;  and  that  the  River  St.  John,  which 
falls  into  the  Bay  of  Fundy,  (as  well  as  the  River 
Ristigouche  which,  through  the  Bay  des  Chaleurs,  falls 
into  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence,)  is  intended,  on  that  as 
well  as  on  separate  grounds,  to  be  excepted  from  that 
class  of  rivers  which  are  described  in  the  treaty  as  falling 
into  the  Atlantic  Ocean. 

"Sndly.  That  the  ground  over  which  the  boundary 
line  claimed  by  the  United  States  does  pass,  has  neither 
the  mountainous  character,  nor  the  continuous  elevation 
necessary  to  entitle  it  to  the  designation  of  'High 
lands,'  as  intended  by  the  treaty;  and  therefore,  that 
the  Highlands,  claimed  on  the  part  of  the  United  States, 
conform  neither  in  position  or  character,  to  the  conditions 
imposed  on  them  by  the  treaty. 

"From  those  premises,  and  with  reference  particularly 
to  the  assertion,  that  the  River  St.  John  must  be 
excepted  from  that  class  of  rivers  described  in  the  treaty 
as  falling  into  the  Atlantic  Ocean,  it  is  inferred,  on  the 
part  of  Great  Britain,  that,  consequently  the  Highlands 
described  in  the  treaty  must  lie  to  the  southward  of  that 
River.  And  it  is  further  affirmed,  that  the  Highlands, 
claimed,  on  the  part  of  Great  Britain,  as  those  desig 
nated  in  the  treaty  of  1783,  conform,  in  every  particu 
lar,  to  the  conditions  imposed  on  them  by  that  treaty." 


[22] 

The  north  line  would  terminate  at  Mars  Hill  as  the 
British  construed  the  treaty,  while  under  the  American 
construction  it  would  run  as  far  north  as  the  sources  of 
the  Ristigouche  River,  which  empties  into  the  Bay  des 
Chaleurs. 

The  St.  John  River  was  midway  between  the  two 
lines,  or  in  about  the  central  part  of  the  disputed  terri 
tory. 

Had  the  British  claim  prevailed,  all  of  what  is  now 
Aroostook  County,  north  of  Mars  Hill,  and  the  most  of 
what  is  now  Piscataquis  County,  northerly  of  the  Penob- 
scot  waters,  would  be  a  part  of  Canada;  and  if  the 
Americans  had  finally  been  sustained  in  all  that  they  con 
tended  for,  the  rich  St.  John  River  valley  and  a  large 
stretch  of  territory  northerly,  easterly  and  northwesterly 
would  now  be  a  part  of  the  State  of  Maine. 

For  the  purpose  of  this  sketch  it  is  not  necessary  to 
consider  the  numerous  subjects  which  were  involved  when 
the  case  was  tried  out  before  the  arbiter.  Thirty  or 
more  maps  published  in  London  subsequent  to  the  proc 
lamation  of  1763,  were  among  the  exhibits  placed  before 
him  by  the  United  States,  eighteen  of  which  were  pub 
lished  before  the  treaty  of  1783. 

The  English  made  the  point  that  the  negotiators  of 
the  treaty  of  1783  had  no  evidence  before  them  of  the 
actual  geography  of  the  country,  and  hence  the  words  of 
the  treaty  were  not  effectual,  and  yet  these  last-named 
eighteen  maps  all  made  plain  the  situation  of  the  basin 
of  the  St.  John,  the  sources  of  the  Penobscot,  which 
were  rivers  and  streams  falling  into  the  Atlantic,  and 
those  of  the  tributary  streams  of  the  St.  Lawrence. 

The  negotiators  of  that  treaty  had  access  to  these 
maps  and  made  use  of  them,  consequently  the  Americans 
contended  that  the  highland  or  ridge  of  land  which 
divided  these  tributary  streams,  was  the  "Highlands" 


[23] 

described  in  the  treaty,  and  that  it  constituted  a  well- 
defined  boundary  line  which  could  be  found  upon  the  face 
of  the  earth,  and  that  there  was  no  reason  whatever  for 
assuming  that  when  those  words  were  mutually  written 
into  the  treaty  their  significance  and  meaning  were 
not  fully  understood. 

It  would  seem  that  the  gist  of  the  entire  issue  before 
the  King  of  the  Netherlands  was,  what  were  the  inten 
tions  of  the  negotiators  of  the  treaty  of  1783,  and  it  is 
difficult  to  perceive  just  how  any  acts  of  jurisdiction 
subsequently  exercised  by  either  party  over  the  contested 
territory,  could  have  thrown  any  light  on  these  inten 
tions  or  affected  in  any  manner  the  terms  of  the  treaty. 

And  yet  both  sides  were  allowed  to  and  did  present 
evidence  of  this  nature,  some  of  which  is  interesting  even 
though  its  materiality  at  that  time  may  be  doubted. 

It  appeared  that  in  the  year  1784,  a  native  Indian 
was  tried  and  convicted  by  a  court  of  the  Province  of 
Quebec,  and  accordingly  executed  for  a  murder  com 
mitted,  as  was  suggested,  on  the  waters  of  the  river  St. 
John;  that  between  the  years,  1789  and  1791,  two  suits 
were  instituted  and  judgment  obtained,  before  the  courts 
of  Quebec  by  some  inhabitants  of  Canada  against  persons 
residing  on  the  river  Madawaska ;  that  an  extract  from 
a  list  of  the  parishes  in  the  Province  of  Quebec,  taken 
from  the  minutes  of  the  Executive  Council  for  1791, 
includes  that  of  Madawaska,*  and  that,  in  the  year 

*A  part  of  the  disputed  territory  was  during  the  entire  contro 
versy  over  the  North  Eastern  Boundary,  known  as  Madawaska. 
Upon  a  part  of  this  is  now  situated  the  town  of  Madawaska  in  the 
State  of  Maine.  This  territory  was  anciently  called  the  Fief  of 
Madawaska;  the  original  concession  of  it  having  been  made  by  the 
Government  of  Canada  to  the  children  of  the  Sieur  Charles  Auburt 
de  la  Chenaye,  November  25,  1683.  This  concession  contained  the 
following  condition: 

"Subject  to  the  Foi  et  hommage,  which  the  grantees,  their  heirs 


[24] 

1785,  that  council  issued  an  order  for  opening  a  road 
from  ,  Kamarouska  on  the  river  St.  Lawrence  to  Lake 
Temisquata,  which  lies  on  the  southeastern  side  of  the 
dividing  Highlands,  claimed  as  their  boundary  by  the 
United  States. 

Seldom    has   an  international  question  been  so  thor 
oughly  discussed  as  was  that  of  this  disputed  boundary.  * 

and  assigns,  shall  he  holden  to  render  at  the  Castle  of  St.  Louis  of 
Quebec  of  which  they  are  to  hold,  and  subject  to  the  customary 
rights  and  dues  in  conformity  with  the  Contume  de  Paris." 

By  an  adjudication  of  the  Prevotal  Court  of  Quebec,  dated  Octo 
ber  29th,  1709,  this  Seigniory  of  Madawaska  was  seized  by  virtue  of 
a  sentence  of  that  court  and  was  sold  to  Joseph  Blondeau  dit  la 
Franchise  as  the  highest  bidder  at  a  public  judicial  sale  for  the  sum 
of  1,300  livres,  and  was  accordingly  adjudged  to  the  said  Joseph 
Blondeau. 

On  the  15th  day  of  February,  1723,  it  appears,  by  some  kind  of  a 
judicial  proceeding  or  report,  that  "on  the  Fief  of  Madawaska  there 
was  a  domain,  on  which  the  buildings  had  been  burnt  by  the 
Indians,  and  that  there  were  six  'arpens'  of  land  cleared,  but  at  that 
time  no  settlement." 

By  an  adjudication  by  the  Prevotal  Court  of  Quebec,  dated  July 
29th,  1755,  founded  on  what  was  called  a  "voluntary  judicial  sale," 
Madawaska  passed  to  Pierre  Claverie.  After  Canada  became  a  part 
of  the  dominion  of  Great  Britain  by  conquest,  the  title  to  this  terri 
tory  passed  by  judicial  sale  to  Richard  Murray  and  on  August  2, 
1768,  by  deed  of  assignment  by  Richard  Murray  to  Malcolm  Fraser. 

The  latest  deed  of  Madawaska  under  these  titles  that  we  have  evi 
dence  of  was  dated  August  2,  1802,  but  between  this  and  the  last 
named  date  there  had  been  several  transfers  by  judicial  sale  and 
otherwise. 

This  chain  of  titles  was  introduced  before  the  King  of  the  Nether 
lands,  by  the  British  commissioners,  to  show  continuous  possession 
and  ownership  by  Great  Britain  to  Madawaska.  The  reply  of  the 
United  States  to  this  contention  was,  that  since  the  conquest  no  one 
had  performed  acts  of  fealty  and  homage  under  the  condition  of 
the  original  concession  of  1683,  and  hence  the  title  had  been  for 
feited  and  abandoned  by  reason  of  the  failure  to  comply  with  these 
feudal  services. 

(Appendix  to  the  first  British  Statement  before  the  King  of  the 
Netherlands.) 

""History  and  Digest  of  International  Arbitrations,  Vol.  I,    p.  91. 


[25] 

Gallatin  asserted  that  he  devoted  nearly  two  years  in 
studying  and  preparing  the  case,  and  bestowed  on  it 
more  time  than  he  ever  did  on  any  other  question.  * 

Finally  on  the  10th  day  of  January,  1831,  the  deci 
sion  of  the  King  of  the  Netherlands  was  made  public 
and  it  was  a  surprise  to  both  governments  and  to  all 
parties  of  interest. 

When  his  award  was  analyzed,  it  was  found  that  he 
had  sustained  in  words  the  American  contention  that  the 
term  "Highlands"  was  applicable  to  ground  which,  with 
out  being  mountainous  or  hilly,  divided  rivers,  flowing  in 
the  opposite  directions ;  but  that  it  was  not  shown  that 
the  boundaries  described  in  the  treaty  of  1783  coincided 
with  the  ancient  limits  of  the  British  provinces;  and 
that  neither  the  line  of  Highlands  claimed  by  Great 
Britain  so  nearly  answered  the  requirements  of  the  treaty 
of  1783  in  respect  to  division  of  rivers  as  to  give  prefer 
ence  one  over  the  other. 

Abandoning  therefore  the  attempt  to  determine  this 
part  of  the  boundary  according  to  the  treaty  of  1783, 
he  recommended  what  was  termed  a  line  of  "conven 
ience"  t  or  in  other  words,  he  made  an  arbitrary  line, 
not  found  in  Mitchell's  map,  Map  A,  or  in  any  of  the 
maps  used  by  the  negotiators  of  the  treaty  of  1783,  of 
the  treaty  of  Ghent,  or  by  either  party  before  him. 

It  was  evidently  intended  by  him  as  a  compromise, 
pure  and  simple. 

On  the  12th  day  of  January,  1831,  Mr.  Preble, 
who  was  then  envoy-extraordinary  of  the  United  States 
at  The  Hague,  addressed  to  the  British  Minister  of 
Foreign  Affairs,  a  note,  respectfully  protesting  against 
the  award  and  reserving  the  rights  and  interests  of  the 

*  Adams'  Writings  of  Gallatin,  Vol.  II,  p.  549. 

tHistory  and  Digest  of  International  Arbitrations,  Vol.  I,  p.  136. 


[26] 

United  States  on  the  ground  that  the  proceedings  of  the 
arbitrator  constituted  a  departure  from  his  powers. 

Mr.  Preble  also  took  the  ground  that  the  object  of 
the  arbitration  was  to  have  executed  the  terms  of  the 
treaty  of  1783  and  that  if  this  could  not  be  done,  the 
question  of  boundaries  ought  never  again  be  submitted 
to  any  sovereign.  And  he  thus  formally  entered  his 
protest  against  the  proceedings. 

The  British  government,  while  apparently  not  satis 
fied  with  the  award,  expressed  its  acquiescence  in  it,  but 
authorized  its  minister  privately  to  intimate  to  the 
United  States  that  it  would  not  consider  the  formal 
acceptance  of  the  award  as  precluding  modifications  of 
the  line  by  mutual  exchange  and  consideration. 

The  government  at  Washington  for  a  time  hesitated 
as  to  what  course  to  pursue.  Mr.  Treble's  protest  had 
been  entered  without  instructions  from  his  government 
and  President  Jackson  was  at  first  inclined  to  accept  the 
award. 

As  the  action  of  the  King  of  the  Netherlands  became 
more  fully  understood  by  the  people  of  Maine  and 
Massachusetts,  its  discussion  by  newspapers  and  public 
men  became  bitter  and  its  criticism  more  and  more 
intense;  and  the  President's  political  enemies  in  both 
states  were  severely  blaming  him  for  his  procrastination 
in  the  matter. 

At  one  time  he  was  disposed  to  issue  a  proclamation, 
accepting  of  the  terms  of  the  award  without  consulting 
the  Senate,  but  was  driven  from  this  course  by  his  politi 
cal  friends  in  Maine,  who  represented  to  him  that  such 
a  course  would  change  the  politics  of  the  State.* 

It  is  said  that  he  regretted  in  after  years  that  he  did 

*Webster's  Works,  Vol.  1,  p.  119. 


[27] 

not    follow    out    his    own  inclinations  in  regard  to  the 
subject.* 

President  Jackson  therefore  submitted  the  question  of 
acceptance  or  rejection  to  the  Senate  on  the  7th  day 
of  December,  1831,  and  in  June,  1832,  the  award  was 
rejected  by  a  vote  of  35  to  8,  and  the  Senate  at  the 
same  time  advised  the  President  to  open  a  new  negotia 
tion  with  Great  Britain  for  the  ascertainment  of  the  line. 

The  British  government  promised  to  enter  upon  the 
negotiations  in  a  friendly  spirit;  and  it  was  stipulated 
and  agreed  that  both  sides  should  refrain  from  exercising 
any  jurisdiction  beyond  the  boundaries  which  they  actu 
ally  possessed. 

Meanwhile  the  government  of  the  United  States  made 
earnest  though  unsuccessful  attempts  to  obtain  from  the 
State  of  Maine  full  authority  to  adjust  the  matter  with 
Great  Britain. 

The  proposition  was  for  Maine  to  provisionally  sur 
render  to  the  Federal  government  all  of  her  right  to  the 
disputed  territory  for  the  purpose  of  a  settlement. 

These  offers  were,  however,  all  rejected  by  the  State 
of  Maine  and  then  the  British  government  formally  with 
drew  its  offer  to  accept  the  compromise  recommended  by 
the  King  of  the  Netherlands. 

No  real  progress  was  made  and  nothing  accomplished 
towards  a  settlement  of  the  controversy  during  the 
remainder  of  President  Jackson's  administration. 

President  Van  Buren  sent  a  message  to  the  Senate 
March  20,  1838,  with  recent  correspondence  about  the 
subject  between  the  Secretary  of  State,  Mr.  Forsyth, 
and  the  British  Minister,  Mr.  Fox. 

Mr.  Forsyth  recommended  a  new  conventional  line,  or 
another  submission  to  arbitration  and  the  President  in 

*Webster's  Works,  Vol.  1,  p.  119. 


[28] 

his  message  expressed  the  hope  that  "an  early  and  satis 
factory  adjustment  of  it  could  be  effected." 

Governor  Kent  submitted  the  question  to  the  Legis 
lature  of  Maine,  which  body  on  the  23d  day  of  March, 
1888,  resolved  that  it  was  not  expedient  to  assent  to  the 
Federal  government's  treating  for  a  conventional  line,  but 
that  the  State  should  insist  on  the  line  established  by  the 
treaty  of  1783,  and  that  the  senators  and  representatives 
in  Congress  be  requested  to  urge  the  passage  of  a  bill 
then  pending  for  a  survey  of  the  boundary. 

In  1839,  Messrs.  Featherstonhaugh  and  Mudge, 
employed  by  the  English  authorities,  surveyed  a  part  of 
the  line  and  the  government  at  Washington  provided 
for  a  survey  in  1840. 

Nothing  of  importance  resulted  from  either  of  these 
surveys. 

For  a  decade  of  years  subsequent  to  the  award  of  the 
King  of  the  Netherlands  it  was  a  theme  of  vast  interest 
to  the  people  of  Maine  and  of  Massachusetts  as  well. 

The  General  Court  of  that  commonwealth  made  vari 
ous  reports  regarding  it  at  different  times.  The  Gov 
ernors  of  Maine  discussed  it  in  their  messages  and  the 
Legislature  made  several  exhaustive  reports  upon  it. 

Indissolubly  interwoven  with  this  controversy  is  the 
arrest,  imprisonment  and  punishment  of  one  John  Baker, 
a  resident  of  what  was  known  as  the  Madawaska  Settle 
ment. 

The  rights  of  the  Commonwealth  of  Massachusetts  to 
Madawaska  and  adjacent  lands  on  the  Aroostook  River 
were  recognized  at  an  early  period  after  the  source  of 
the  St.  Croix  was  settled  by  the  convention  of  1794. 

Grants  were  accordingly  made  by  the  Legislature  of 

Massachusetts  of  lots  of  land  embracing  both  branches 

of  the  Aroostook  River*  and  bordering  on  the  boundary 

*This  river  was  originally  known  as  "Restock"  and  "Ristook." 


[29] 

line,  namely :  One  to  the  town  of  Plymouth  and  one  to 
General  Eaton. 

Locations  and  surveys  of  these  lands  were  made  under 
authority  of  Massachusetts. 

Among  other  grants  was  that  of  a  lot  of  land  to  John 
Baker  "of  a  plantation  called  and  known  by  the  name 
of  Madawaska  Settlement,  in  the  County  of  Penobscot, 
and  State  of  Maine,"  the  deed  of  which  was  executed 
jointly  by  "George  W.  Coffin,  agent  for  the  Common 
wealth  of  Massachusetts,  and  James  Irish,  agent  for  the 
State  of  Maine,"  on  the  third  day  of  October,  1825. 
Another  deed  of  land  situated  below  Baker's  was  made 
to  James  Bacon. 

Baker  had  a  farm  and  a  small  store,  and  also  a  grist 
and  sawmill.  Other  settlers  soon  became  his  neighbors 
and  his  place  was  a  center  and  headquarters  for  the 
American  settlers  in  that  locality. 

One  George  Morehouse  resided  in  Tobique,  in  a  parish 
then  recently  formed  and  known  as  Kent. 

He  held  a  magistrate's  commission  from  the  Province 
of  New  Brunswick,  and  the  first  of  the  Madawaska 
troubles  seem  to  have  arisen  from  a  practice  which  he 
had  instituted  as  magistrate,  although  there  is  no  evi 
dence  that  he  was  in  the  first  instance  in  any  way 
authorized  or  instructed  by  the  province  authorities  to 
pursue  it. 

This  was  no  less  a  procedure  than  issuing  precepts 
directed  to  the  constables  of  the  Parish  of  Kent,  for  the 
recovery  of  small  demands  against  the  inhabitants  along 
the  Aroostook  River. 

Criminal  processes  against  these  inhabitants  were  also 
occasionally  issued  by  Magistrate  Morehouse. 

The  serving  of  these  precepts  was  often  resisted  by 
them  and  sometimes  by  force. 


[30] 

That  Baker  was  a  leader  among  these  settlers  is  true 
and  that  he  may  have  advised  them  to  thus  resist  the 
officers  which  he  believed  had  no  authority  or  jurisdiction 
there,  is  also  undoubtedly  a  fact. 

Thus  the  strife  between  Morehouse  and  his  followers 
on  the  one  hand,  and  the  American  settlers,  led  by 
Baker,  on  the  other  hand,  continually  increased  until  it 
seemed  to  have  culminated  some  time  in  the  early  fall 
of  1827  by  an  incident  which  now  seems  more  amusing 
than  tragic. 

The  Americans  had  erected  a  staff,  or  what  might 
have  been  known  as  a  '  'liberty  pole, ' '  although  it  does 
not  appear  that  they  had  any  flag,  and  upon  the  top  of 
it  had  attached  a  rude  representation  of  the  American 
Eagle. 

The  Americans  had  occasional  gatherings  and  festivi 
ties  around  this  national  emblem,  which  it  may  be 
imagined,  were  more  or  less  convivial,  and  they  sometimes 
jeered  and  perhaps  annoyed  passers-by  from  the  province 
who  acknowledged  allegiance  to  the  Sovereign  of  Eng 
land. 

When  Morehouse  learned  of  this  he  became  enraged 
and  called  upon  Baker  and  ordered  him  to  remove  it. 
This  Baker  refused  to  do,  whereupon  Morehouse  procured 
a  subpoena  from  Thomas  Wetmore,  Esq.,  attorney- 
general  of  New  Brunswick,  dated  September  17,  1827, 
for  his  arrest. 

Early  in  the  morning  of  September  25th,  while  Baker 
and  his  family  were  asleep,  his  house  was  surrounded  by 
an  armed  force  and  he  was  arrested  and  taken  before 
Magistrate  Morehouse,*  who  committed  him  to  the  jail  in 

*Report  of  Charles  S.  Davies  to  the  Governor  of  Maine,  January 
31,  1831,  p.  29.  There  may  be  some  doubt  however  about  this 
statement  as  the  subpoena  commanded  him  to  appear  before  the 
court  in  Fredericton. 


[31] 

Fredericton  without  even  examination  or  trial,  if  the 
accounts  of  the  transaction  published  at  the  time  are  to 
be  believed. 

But  while  Morehouse  may  or  may  not  have  been 
incited  by  the  New  Brunswick  authorities  to  do  these 
unlawful  acts,  they  were  themselves  responsible  for  some 
things  equally  as  illegal,  among  which  was  that  of  assess 
ing  and  levying  a  special  and  wholly  illegal  tax  upon 
these  settlers  which  was  known  as  the  "Alien  tax."* 

Baker  was  prosecuted  at  various  times  and  one  of  the 
alleged  grounds  for  action  against  him  and  for  several 
other  similar  proceedings  against  Americans  in  Mada- 
waska  and  along  the  Aroostook  River  was,  that  they 
were  trespassers  on  crown  lands.  Lumber  that  had 
been  sawed  at  Baker's  mill  was  seized  and  confiscated 
while  being  transported  down  the  St.  John. 

Magistrate  Morehouse  seems  to  have  spent  consider 
able  time  in  harassing  the  settlers  on  the  Aroostook  in 
devious  ways. 

Early  in  the  spring  of  1827  he  assumed  to  have  author 
ity  to  prevent  them  from  working  on  the  lands  which  they 
occupied,  and  forbade  their  doing  so,  and  also  posted  up 
written  notices  to  this  effect  on  the  Eaton  Grant,  and 
in  different  places;  and  marked  some  small  piles  of  tim 
ber  which  they  had  cut,  for  seizure,  t 

He  did  not  even  treat  them  as  English  subjects  but 
apparently  regarded  them  as  outlaws  and  intruders  with 
out  a  country,  and  without  rights  which  anyone  was 
bound  to  respect. 

In  July,  1827,  Daniel  Craig,  a  deputy  sheriff  of  the 
Parish  of  Kent,  who  was  sent  by  Morehouse,  delivered 
summonses  to  all  of  the  inhabitants  to  appear  before  the 

*Gov.  Lincoln's  letter  to  the  Secretary  of  State  of  the  United 
States,  September  3,  1827. 
tDavies'  Report,  p.  10. 


[32] 

court  in  Fredericton  in  pleas  of  trespass  and  intrusion 
on  crown  lands.* 

This  sudden  and  unexpected  proceeding  naturally 
created  a  state  of  consternation  and  alarm. 

The  precepts  were  served  only  a  few  days  before  the 
court  was  to  convene.  Some  went  to  Fredericton  only 
to  learn  that  the  cases  were  delayed  until  the  next  winter. 
Some  went  part  way  and  then  returned  home,  while  many 
did  not  heed  the  summonses  at  all. 

It  was  said  that  those  who  did  go  suffered  much  hard 
ship  as  they  were  far  from  home  without  means  of  suste 
nance. 

One  man,  James  Armstrong,  was  seized  in  the  house 
of  his  brother,  Ferdinand  Armstrong,  placed  in  a  canoe 
and  forcibly  deported  beyond  the  territory,  t 

Their  market  was  at  Houlton  and  their  only  means  of 
transportation  was  down  the  St.  John  River,  but  as 
their  produce  was  often  seized  while  en  route  and  as  they 
were  subject  to  so  much  oppression  from  the  provincial 
officers,  in  the  fall  and  winter  of  1827-8  they  deter 
mined  to  cut  out  a  woods  road  to  Houlton  which  should 
be  wholly  on  undisputed  American  soil. 

The  first  attempt  at  this  was  a  failure  as  the  explorers 
who  were  employed  to  "spot"  out  the  road,  lost  their 
way  and  after  much  suffering  and  privation,  found  them 
selves  in  Foxcroft.  J 

It  is  evident  that  these  American  settlers  desired  to 
live  quiet  and  peaceful  lives,  for  the  means  which  they 
resorted  to  to  circumvent  provincial  authority  fully 
demonstrate  this. 

When  they  had  endured  the  methods  and  practices  of 
Morehouse  and  others  as  long  as  they  felt  it  was  possible, 

*  Da  vies'  Report,  p.  11. 
tlb.  p.  12. 
Jib.  p.  12. 


[38] 

instead  of  organizing  an  armed  revolt  which  might  have 
been  natural  under  the  circumstances,  they  conceived  the 
idea  of  a  general  agreement  to  avoid  all  resort  to  courts 
or  legal  proceedings  whatever. 

The  plan  was  simple  and  yet  unique  and  perhaps  in  a 
degree  communistic. 

A  paper  was  accordingly  drawn  up  and  signed  by  the 
American  inhabitants  generally,  constituting  a  sort  of 
compact,  by  which  they  mutually  agreed  to  adjust  all 
disputes  of  whatever  nature  which  might  arise  among 
themselves,  by  virtue  of  referees,  without  admission  of 
British  authority,  and  that  they  would  support  each 
other  in  abiding  by  this  determination. 

This  was  to  be  a  provisional  agreement,  to  continue 
in  force  only  for  one  year ;  and,  in  the  meantime,  appli 
cation  was  to  be  made  to  the  government,  in  order  to 
obtain,  if  possible,  the  benefit  of  some  regular  authority.  * 

Thus  these  isolated  and  primitive  people  in  that  deso 
late  and  remote  region,  buffeted  by  the  persecutions  of 
one  government,  and  forsaken  and  abandoned  to  their 
own  resources  by  another  government,  more  than  half  a 
century  after  the  treaty  of  1783,  proposed  to  free  them 
selves  from  the  tyranny  of  all  magistrates,  courts, 
lawyers  and  officers. 

This  paper  or  written  agreement  among  the  inhabi 
tants  of  Madawaska,  was,  as  will  hereafter  appear,  one  of 
the  grounds  for  the  indictment  against  Baker  and  others 
for  alleged  conspiracy  and  sedition. 

The  redoubtable  Morehouse,  as  might  have  been 
anticipated,  appeared  upon  the  scene  as  soon  as  he 
learned  of  the  existence  of  this  written  agreement  and 
demanded  it  of  them,  but  it  was  in  their  estimation,  too 
sacred  a  document  to  part  with,  and  they  refused  to 

*Davies'  Report,  p.  23. 


[34] 

deliver  it  up  as  did  the  people  of  Connecticut  refuse  to 
surrender  their  ancient  charter  to  James  II  in  1687. 

At  the  Hilary  term*  of  the  Supreme  Court  in  1828, 
the  grand  jury  for  the  County  of  York  in  the  Province 
of  New  Brunswick  found  a  true  bill  of  indictment  against 
John  Baker,  James  Bacon  and  Charles  Studson,  for 
conspiracy. 

The  defendants,  Bacon  and  Studson,  were  never  taken 
into  custody,  but  John  Baker  was  arrested  and  arraigned 
Thursday,  May  8,  1828,  before  the  Honorable  Chief 
Justice  Saunders,  Mr.  Justice  Bliss  and  Mr.  Justice 
Chipman. 

The  indictment  alleged  that  the  defendants  "being 
persons  greatly  disaffected  to  our  said  lord  the  now 
King,  and  his  Government,  within  this  his  Majesty's 
Province  of  New  Brunswick,  and  being  factiously  and 
seditiously  disposed,  on  the  fourth  day  of  July  in  the 
eighth  year  of  the  reign  of  our  said  Sovereign  Lord 
George  the  Fourth,  with  force  and  arms,  at  the  parish 
aforesaid,  in  the  county  aforesaid,  did  amongst  them 
selves,  conspire,  combine,  confederate,  and  agree  together, 
falsely,  maliciously,  factiously,  and  seditiously,  and  to 
bring  hatred  and  contempt  on  our  said  lord  the  King, 
etc,  etc." 

The  first  overt  act  complained  of  in  this  indictment 
was  that  on  the  said  fourth  day  of  July  at  the  place 
above  named,  the  defendants  "in  pursuance  of,  and 
according  to  said  conspiracy,"  *  *  *  *  did  "cause 
to  be  raised  and  erected,  a  certain  flag-staff,  and  did 
place  thereon  a  certain  flag,  as  the  Standard  of  the 
United  States  of  America. ' ' 

*Hilary  Term.  In  English  law.  A  term  of  court,  beginning  on 
the  llth  and  ending  on  the  31st  of  January  in  each  year.  Super 
seded  (1875)  by  Hilary  sittings,  which  begin  January  llth,  and  end 
on  the  Wednesday  before  Easter. 


[35] 

The  second  overt  act  relates  to  the  provisional  paper 
which  the  inhabitants  had  signed  as  above  referred  to 
and  alleged  that  the  defendants  had  "applied  to  divers 
liege  subjects  of  our  said  lord  the  King,  and  then  and 
there  presented  to  the  same  subjects  a  paper  writing, 
which  they  the  said  John  Baker,  James  Bacon  and 
Charles  Studson,  then  and  there  requested  the  said  sub 
jects  to  sign,  then  and  there  declaring  that,  by  the  said 
paper,  they  the  said  subjects,  would  bind  themselves  to 
oppose  the  execution  of  the  laws  of  Great  Britain,  to 
wit,  in  the  Madawaska  settlement,  so  called. ' ' 

The  third  overt  act  states  that  the  defendants  "did 
oppose  and  obstruct  the  post  man"  in  carrying  the  mail 
through  Madawaska  settlement,  etc. 

The  attorney  general  appeared  and  prosecuted  the 
case  for  the  crown  while  the  defendant  Baker  appeared 
without  counsel  and  defended  himself  during  the  trial. 
Baker  was  found  guilty,  and  sentenced  to  two  months 
imprisonment,  and  to  pay  a  fine  of  £25  to  the  king. 

Prior  to  the  arrest  of  Baker  he  and  James  Bacon  had 
been  selected  by  the  inhabitants  as  "a  deputation"  to 
proceed  to  the  seat  of  government  of  Maine  with  a 
request  to  have  their  case  laid  before  the  Legislature  at 
its  next  session ;  and  to  enquire  of  the  executive  authority 
whether  they  were  recognized  as  citizens  of  the  State  of 
Maine  and  entitled  to  its  protection. 

These  two  men  attended  to  this  duty  by  traveling  on 
foot  and  by  canoe  much  of  the  way  ;  they  then  '  'returned 
through  the  wilderness  by  the  way  they  came. ' ' 

One  of  the  results  of  their  mission  was  the  following 
proclamation  by  the  Governor  of  Maine: 

"Whereas  it  has  been  made  known  to  this  State,  that 
one  of  its  citizens  has  been  conveyed  from  it,  by  a 
Foreign  Power,  to  a  gaol  in  the  Province  of  New  Bruns 
wick  ;  and  that  many  trespasses  have  been  committed  by 


[36] 

inhabitants  of  the  same  Province  upon  the  sovereignty 
of  Maine  and  the  rights  of  those  she  is  bound  to 
protect. 

"Be  it  also  known,  that,  relying  on  the  government 
and  people  of  the  Union,  the  proper  exertion  will  be 
applied  to  obtain  reparation  and  security. 

"Those,  therefore,  suffering  wrong,  or  threatened 
with  it,  and  those  interested  by  sympathy,  on  account 
of  the  violation  of  our  territory  and  immunities,  are 
exhorted  to  forbearance  and  peace,  so  that  the  prepara 
tions  for  preventing  the  removal  of  our  land  marks,  and 
guarding  the  sacred  and  inestimable  rights  of  American 
citizens  may  not  be  embarrassed  by  any  unauthorized 
acts. 

ENOCH  LINCOLN. 

Portland,  November  9,  1827." 

The  Legislature  of  1828  also  passed  this  resolve: 
"Whereas  the  sovereignty  of  this  State  has  been 
repeatedly  violated  by  the  acts  of  the  agents  and  officers 
of  the  Government  of  the  British  Province  of  New 
Brunswick,  and  that  government,  by  its  agents  and 
officers,  has  wantonly  and  injuriously  harassed  the  citi 
zens  of  this  State,  residing  on  the  North  Eastern  frontier 
of  the  same,  and  within  its  limits,  by  assuming  to  exer 
cise  jurisdiction  over  them,  in  issuing  and  executing  civil 
and  criminal  process  against  them,  by  which  their 
property  has  been  seized,  and  some  of  them  arrested  and 
conveyed  out  of  the  State,  and  subjected  to  the  opera 
tion  of  the  laws  of  that  Province;  and  in  establishing 
military  companies  within  the  territory  of  this  State; 
imposing  fines  for  neglect  of  military  duty ;  imposing 
upon  our  said  citizens  an  alien  tax,  and  requiring  pay 
ment  of  the  same;  and  Whereas,  by  the  exercise  of  the 
aforesaid  unwarranted  acts  of  jurisdiction  by  the  govern- 


[37] 

ment  of  the  said  Province,  some  of  our  citizens  have 
been  deprived  of  their  liberty,  their  property  destroyed, 
many  of  them  driven  from  their  lands  and  dwellings, 
the  tranquility  and  peace  of  all  of  them  disturbed,  and 
the  settlement  and  population  of  that  part  of  the  State 
adjoining  said  Province,  greatly  retarded,  if  not  wholly 
prevented :  Therefore, 

"RESOLVED,  That  the  present  is  a  crisis,  in  which 
the  government  and  people  of  this  State,  have  good 
cause  to  look  to  the  government  of  the  United  States 
for  defence  and  protection  against  foreign  aggression. 

"RESOLVED  FURTHER,  That  if  new  aggressions 
shall  be  made  by  the  government  of  the  Province  of 
New-Brunswick  upon  the  territory  of  this  State,  and 
upon  its  citizens,  and  seasonable  protection  shall  not  be 
given  by  the  L^nited  States,  the  Governor  be,  and  he 
hereby  is  requested  to  use  all  proper  and  constitutional 
means  in  his  power,  to  protect  and  defend  the  citizens 
aforesaid  in  the  enjoyment  of  their  rights. 

"RESOLVED  FURTHER,  That,  in  the  opinion  of 
this  Legislature,  the  Executive  of  the  United  States 
ought,  without  delay,  to  demand  of  the  British  Govern 
ment  the  immediate  restoration  of  John  Baker,  a  citizen 
of  this  State,  who  has  been  seized  by  the  officers  of  the 
Province  of  New  Brunswick,  within  the  territory  of  the 
State  of  Maine,  and  by  them  conveyed  to  Fredericton, 
in  said  Province,  where  he  is  now  confined  in  prison ;  and 
to  take  such  measures  as  will  effect  his  early  release. 

"RESOLVED  FURTHER,  That  the  Governor  be, 
and  he  hereby  is,  authorized  and  requested,  with  the 
advice  and  consent  of  Council,  from  time  to  time,  to 
extend  to  the  family  of  the  said  John  Baker,  such  relief 
as  shall  be  deemed  necessary ;  and  he  is  hereby  author 
ized  to  draw  his  warrant  on  the  Treasury  for  such  sum 
or  sums  as  shall  be  required  for  that  purpose. 


[38] 

In  the  House  of  Representatives,  Feb.  16,  1828. 
Read  and  passed, 

JOHN  RUGGLES,  Speaker. 
Attest,  James  L.  Child,  Clerk. 

In  Senate,  February   18,    1828, 

Read  and  passed, 

ROBERT  P.   DUNLAP,  President. 
Attest,  Ebenezer  Hutchinson,  Sec'y. 

February   18,  1828 — Approved, 

ENOCH   LINCOLN." 

In  1831  the  attempt  of  certain  persons  to  hold  an 
election  at  Madawaska  Settlement  under  the  laws  of 
Maine,  led  to  their  arrest  and  trial  by  the  authorities  of 
New  Brunswick. 

They  were  convicted  and  sentenced  to  fine  and  impris 
onment,  but  were  afterwards  released  on  the  request  of 
the  United  States  government,  their  action  having  been 
disavowed  by  the  authorities  of  Maine. 

In  June,  1837,  Ebenezer  Greeley  of  Dover,  Maine, 
was  employed  by  the  State  of  Maine  as  an  agent  to  take 
the  census  of  the  people  of  Madawaska,  and  at  the  same 
time,  to  distribute  their  share  of  the  surplus  money 
which  had  accumulated  in  the  United  States  Treasury.  * 

A  provincial  constable  arrested  Mr.  Greeley  and  car 
ried  him  as  a  prisoner  to  Fredericton,  N.  B. 

But  while  the  Fredericton  officials  had  for  some  time 
unhesitatingly  imprisoned  humble  and  uninfluential  citi 
zens  of  Maine  when  brought  to  them  in  custody,  they 
were  alarmed  at  this  bold  procedure.  The  sheriff  there 
feared  to  detain  in  gaol  an  agent  or  officer  of  the  State 
of  Maine  while  in  the  discharge  of  his  duties,  and 
refused  to  receive  the  prisoner.  After  being  liberated, 

*  Abbot's  History  of  Maine,    p.    431. 


[39] 

Mr.  Greeley  returned  to  the  Aroostook  and  resumed  his 
labors  as  census  taker. 

In  a  short  time  after  this,  however,  Governor  Harvey 
of  New  Brunswick,  hearing  that  Mr.  Greeley  was  distrib 
uting  money  to  the  people,*  assumed,  without  making 
any  attempt  to  obtain  evidence  of  the  facts,  that  it  was 
done  as  a  bribe  to  induce  the  inhabitants  to  continue 
their  allegiance  to  the  United  States. 

He  therefore  ordered  Mr.  Greeley  to  be  rearrested, 
and  he  was  lodged  in  Fredericton  jail.t 

Governor  Dunlap  of  Maine  issued  a  general  order 
announcing  that  the  soil  of  the  State  had  been  invaded 
by  a  foreign  power  and  the  militia  was  called  upon  to 
hold  itself  in  readiness  for  momentary  and  active  service. 

A  few  weeks  later,  the  British  authorities,  influenced 
by  a  message  from  President  Van  Buren,  again  liberated 
Mr.  Greeley,  who  once  more  returned  to  the  turbulent 
Aroostook  and  remained  there  until  he  had  completed 
his  services.  J 

That  the  people  of  the  new  State  of  Maine  were 
actuated  by  a  spirit  of  patriotism,  in  vigorously  oppos 
ing  the  encroachment  of  the  officials  of  the  Province  of 
New  Brunswick,  upon  what  they  believed  to  be  their  terri 
tory  ;  that  the  feeling,  when  the  District  of  Maine  was 
separated  from  the  Commonwealth  of  Massachusetts,  in 
1820,  and  admitted  into  the  Union  of  States,  was  intense 
and  increased  year  by  year,  as  they  saw  what  they  deemed 
to  be  their  unquestioned  rights,  trampled  upon  by  the 

*This  was  the  famous  "distribution  of  the  surplus"  under 
Pres.  Jackson  which  was  one  of  the  most  notable  events  of  his 
administration. 

t Abbot's  History  of  Maine,  p.  431. 

+Mr.  Greeley  was  released  "without  trial  or  explanation  and 
returned  to  his  home."  (Message  of  Gov.  Kent,  1839.) 


[40] 

province,  supported  and  protected  by  Great  Britain,  was 
bitter  and  uncompromising,  is  true. 

William  King,  the  first  Governor  of  Maine,  in  his 
message  to  the  Legislature,  June  2,  1820,  refers  to  the 
importance  of  the  North  Eastern  Boundary  question,  to 
both  Maine  and  Massachusetts. 

Governor  Paris,  in  1822,  expressed  "great  anxiety," 
because  of  the  disagreement  of  the  commissioners,  under 
the  treaty  of  Ghent,  "in  relation  to  the  true  boundary, 
between  the  United  States  and  the  British  Provinces," 
and  he  again  referred  to  it  in  his  message,  in  1824. 

In  1825,  he  also  called  attention  to  it,  and  to  the  fact 
6  'that  depredations,  to  a  very  considerable  extent,  have 
been  committed  on  our  timber  lands,  lying  on  the  Aroos- 
took  and  Mawascah  and  other  streams,"  and  that  "these 
depredations  were  committed  by  British  Subjects." 

And  in  1826,  a  considerable  part  of  his  annual  mes 
sage  is  devoted  to  this  subject. 

On  January  17,  1826,  the  Joint  Standing  Committee 
on  State  Lands,  made  a  report  to  the  Legislature,  rela 
tive  to  the  boundary  question  accompanied  by  the  follow 
ing  resolve,  which  received  a  passage : 

"Resolved,  That  the  Governor,  for  the  time  being, 
be  authorized  and  requested  to  take  such  measures  as  he 
may  think  expedient  and  effectual,  to  procure  for  the 
use  of  the  State,  copies  of  all  such  maps,  documents, 
publications,  papers  and  surveys,  relating  to  the  North 
Eastern  Boundary  of  the  United  States,  described  in  the 
treaty  of  1783,  and  such  other  information  on  that  sub 
ject,  as  he  may  deem  necessary  and  useful  for  this  State 
to  be  possessed  of;  and  that  the  sum  of  five  hundred 
dollars  be  appropriated  to  carry  into  effect  the  provisions 
of  this  Resolve ;  and  that  the  Governor  be  authorized  to 
draw  his  warrants  on  the  treasury  for  the  same,  as  occa- 


[41] 

sion,  from  time  to  time,  may  require,  he  to  be  accounta 
ble  for  the  same. 

"Resolved,  That  the  Governor  of  this  State,  in  con 
junction  with  the  Governor  of  the  Commonwealth  of 
Massachusetts,  (provided  said  Commonwealth  shall  con 
cur  in  the  measure,)  be  authorized  to  cause  the  Eastern 
and  Northern  lines  of  the  State  of  Maine  to  be 
explored,  and  the  monuments,  upon  those  lines,  men 
tioned  in  the  treaty  of  1783,  to  be  ascertained  in  such 
manner  as  may  be  deemed  most  expedient." 

In  1829,  Gov.  Lincoln  said  in  his  message,  "that  the 
decision  of  the  dispute,  as  to  our  North  Eastern 
Boundary,  is  referred  to  the  King  of  the  Netherlands, 
and  while  I  submit  that  no  reference  in  such  a  case,  was 
warrantable,  yet  there  seems  to  be  no  objection  to  the 
personage  selected,  for  how  can  he,  the  subject  of 
impartial  history,  and  not  apparently  dependent  on  any 
advantage  from  either  party,  being  an  umpire  between 
nations,  act  but  as  the  magnanimous  dispenser  of  justice, 
who  has  the  power  to  achieve  the  most  glorious  victory 
by  the  suppression  of  the  most  extreme  error?" 

When  the  Legislature  of  Maine  convened,  in  1831, 
the  King  of  the  Netherlands  had  rendered  his  decision. 

An  official  communication  from  President  YaiLJBtwen 
to  Governor  Smith,  together  with  a  translation  of  the 
full  text  of  the  award,  was  transmitted  to  the  Legisla 
ture,  with  a  special  message  by  the  Governor,  who  had 
also  devoted  a  considerable  portion  of  his  annual  mes 
sage  to  the  matter. 

A  joint  select  committee  was  appointed  by  the  Legis 
lature  to  consider  the  whole  subject,  who  submitted  an 
elaborate  and  exhaustive  report,  full  of  indignation  at 
the  findings  of  the  arbitrator,  signed  by  its  chairman, 
John  G.  Deane. 


[42] 

It  not  only  attacked  the  impartiality  of  the  arbitrator, 
but  strongly  intimated,  that  he  was  not  in  fact,  a  sover 
eign,  within  the  true  meaning  of  the  convention,  which 
clothed  him  with  the  power  and  authority  to  act. 

These  resolutions  closed  as  follows : 

"Whereas,  By  the  convention  of  September,  1827, 
an  independent  sovereign  was  to  be  selected  by  the  gov 
ernments  of  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain,  to 
arbitrate  and  settle  such  disputes  as  had  arisen,  and  the 
King  of  the  Netherlands  was  pursuant  to  that  convention 
selected  the  arbiter,  while  an  independent  sovereign,  in 
the  plentitude  of  his  power,  exercising  dominion  and 
authority  over  more  than  6,000,000  of  subjects: 

"And  Whereas,  By  the  force  of  the  prevalence  of 
liberal  opinions  in  Belgium,  the  Belgians  overthrew  his 
power  and  deprived  him  of  more  than  half  of  his 
dominions  and  reduced  him  to  the  former  dominions  of 
the  Stadtholder,  leaving  him  with  the  empty  title  of  the 
King  of  the  Netherlands  while  he  is  only  the  King  of 
Holland,  and  thereby  increasing  his  dependence  upon 
Great  Britain  for  holding  his  power  even  in  Holland, 
which  from  Public  appearances,  he  held  from  a  very 
doubtful  tenure  in  the  affections  of  the  Dutch. 

"And  Whereas,  The  King  of  the  Netherlands  had 
not  decided  before  his  Kingdom  was  dismembered  and  he 
consented  to  the  division,  and  his  public  character  had 
changed,  so  that  he  had  ceased  to  be  that  public  char 
acter,  and  occupying  that  independent  station  among  the 
sovereigns  of  Europe  contemplated  by  the  convention  of 
September,  1827,  and  which  led  to  his  selection. 

"Therefore  Resolved  in  the  opinion  of  this  Legis 
lature,  That  the  decision  of  the  King  of  the  Nether 
lands,  cannot  and  ought  not  to  be  considered  obligatory 
upon  the  government  of  the  United  States,  either  on  the 
principles  of  right  and  justice,  or  of  honor. 


[43] 

"Resolved  Further — for  the  reasons  before  stated, 
That  no  decision  made  by  any  umpire  under  any  circum 
stances,  if  the  decision  dismembers  a  state,  has  or  can 
have,  any  constitutional  force  or  obligation  upon  the 
State  thus  dismembered  unless  the  State  adopt  and  sanc 
tion  the  decision. ' ' 

At  the  session  of  the  Legislature  of  1831,  an  act  was 
passed  to  incorporate  the  town  of  Madawaska,  including 
territory  southward  of  the  river  St.  John,  and  the  dis 
puted  territory  northward*  of  that  river. 

In  1832,  Governor  Smith,  in  his  annual  message  said: 

"In  the  month  of  October  last,  information  was 
received  that  a  number  of  the  inhabitants  of  Madawaska 
had  organized  themselves  into  a  corporation,  chosen 
municipal  officers,  and  subsequently  a  representative ; 
and  that  in  consequence  of  these  acts,  the  lieutenant- 
governor  and  other  authorities  of  New  Brunswick,  accom 
panied  with  a  military  force,  had  proceeded  to  Mada 
waska,  and  arrested  a  number  of  American  citizens,  who 
were  carried  to  Fredericton,  and  there  imprisoned. 

"Though  the  measures  adopted  by  the  inhabitants, 
voluntarily  organizing  themselves  into  a  corporation  at 
that  place,  then  claimed  to  be  under  the  actual  juris 
diction  of  the  Province  of  New  Brunswick,  were  unex 
pected  by  me,  and  undertaken  without  my  knowledge; 
yet,  as  they  acted  in  territory  known  to  be  within  the 
limits  of  Maine,  and  in  obedience  to  the  laws  and  con 
stitution,  I  considered  that  they  were  entitled  to  the  aid 
and  protection  of  their  government. 

"Immediately,  therefore,  on  receiving  evidence  of 
these  transactions,  they  were  communicated,  together 
with  all  the  circumstances  in  relation  to  them  within  my 
knowledge,  to  the  Department  of  State  of  the  United 

*Now  Upper  Madawaska  in  the  Province  of  New  Brunswick. 


[44] 

States,  with  a  request  that  the  proper  measures  might 
be  adopted  by  the  General  Government  to  procure  the 
release  of  our  citizens,  and  to  protect  the  territory  of 
our  State  from  invasion.  Upon  the  receipt  of  this  com 
munication,  though  the  proceedings  of  the  inhabitants 
of  Madawaska  were  considered  to  be  a  breach  of  the 
arrangement  made  with  the  British  Minister,  for  preserv 
ing  the  state  of  things  as  it  then  existed  on  both  sides, 
till  a  final  disposition  of  the  question,  those  measures 
were  promptly  adopted  by  the  President,  which  resulted 
in  the  release  of  our  citizens  from  imprisonment,  and 
rendered  further  proceedings  on  the  part  of  this  State, 
in  reference  to  that  obj  ect,  unnecessary. ' ' 

A  special  committee  was  appointed,  to  which  was 
referred  that  part  of  Governor  Smith 'svmessage  that  re 
lated  to  the  North  Eastern  Boundary.  Among  its 
members  appear  the  names  of  Reuel  Williams  and  Nathan 
Clifford.  They  submitted  the  following  resolves: 

"Resolved,  That  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States  does  not  invest  the  General  Government  with 
unlimited  and  absolute  powers,  but  confers  only  a  special 
and  modified  sovereignty,  without  authority  to  cede  to 
a  foreign  power  any  portion  of  territory  belonging  to  a 
State,  without  its  consent. 

"Resolved,  That  if  there  is  any  attribute  of  State 
Sovereignty  which  is  unqualified  and  undeniable,  it  is  the 
right  of  jurisdiction  to  the  utmost  limits  of  State  Terri 
tory;  and  if  a  single  obligation  under  the  constitution 
rests  upon  the  Confederacy,  it  is  to  guarantee  the  integ 
rity  of  this  territory  to  the  quiet  and  undisturbed  enjoy 
ment  of  the  States. 

"Resolved,  That  the  doings  of  the  King  of  Holland, 
on  the  subject  of  the  boundary  between  the  United 
States  and  Great  Britain,  are  not  a  decision  of  the 
question  submitted  to  the  King  of  the  Netherlands;  and 


[45] 

that  his  recommendation  of  a  suitable  or  convenient  line 
of  boundary  is  not  obligatory  upon  the  parties  to  the 
submission. 

"Resolved,  That  this  State  protests  against  the 
adoption,  by  the  Government  of  the  United  States,  of 
the  line  of  boundary  recommended  by  the  King  of 
Holland  as  a  suitable  boundary  between  Great  Britain 
and  the  United  States ;  inasmuch  as  it  will  be  a  violation 
of  the  rights  of  Maine, — rights  acknowledged  and  insisted 
upon  by  the  General  Government, — and  will  be  a  prece 
dent  which  endangers  the  integrity,  as  well  as  the  inde 
pendence,  of  every  State  in  the  Union. 

"Resolved,  That  while  the  people  of  this  State  are 
disposed  to  yield  a  ready  obedience  to  the  Constitution 
and  laws  of  the  United  States,  they  will  never  consent  to 
surrender  any  portion  of  their  territory,  on  the  recom 
mendation  of  a  foreign  power. 

"Resolved,  That  the  Governor,  with  advice  of 
Council,  be  authorized  to  appoint  a  competent  agent, 
whose  duty  it  shall  be,  as  soon  as  may  be,  to  repair  to 
the  City  of  Washington,  and  deliver  to  the  President  of 
the  United  States  a  copy  of  the  preceding  Report  and 
these  Resolutions,  with  a  request  that  he  will  lay  the 
same  before  the  Senate  of  the  United  States ;  and  also 
deliver  a  copy  to  the  Vice  President,  to  each  of  the 
Heads  of  Departments,  and  to  each  member  of  the 
Senate,  and  to  our  Representative  in  Congress. 

"Resolved,  That  our  Senators  in  Congress  be 
instructed,  and  our  Representatives  requested,  to  use 
their  best  efforts  to  prevent  our  State  from  being  dis 
membered,  our  territory  alienated,  and  our  just  rights 
prostrated,  by  the  adoption  of  a  new  line  for  our  North 
Eastern  Boundary,  as  recommended  by  the  King  of 
Holland. 


[46] 

"Resolved,  That  the  agent  to  be  appointed  by  the 
Governor  and  Council,  be  instructed  to  cooperate  with 
our  Senators  and  Representatives,  in  advocating  and 
enforcing  the  principles  advanced,  and  positions  taken, 
in  the  foregoing  Resolutions,  and  in  supporting  all  such 
measures  as  shall  be  deemed  best  calculated  to  preserve 
the  integrity  of  our  State,  and  prevent  any  portion  of 
our  territory  and  citizens  from  being  transferred  to  a 
Foreign  Power." 

Governor  Dunlap,  in  1834,  notes  that  this  question 
is  still  unsettled,  but  considers  that  the  way  "is  now  open 
for  the  ultimate  attainment  of  our  rights,"  inasmuch 
that  the  President  of  the  United  States  had  announced 
as  the  policy  of  the  national  administration,  in  negoti 
ations  with  foreign  powers,  to  "submit  to  nothing  that 
is  wrong." 

In  the  years  1834,  1835  and  1836  the  Governors' 
messages  refer  to  it  only  as  "yet  being  in  an  unsettled 
state,"  but  in  1837,  Governor  Dunlap  regrets  that  he 
has  "received  no  information  to  warrant  the  opinion 
that  a  speedy  adjustment  is  expected,"  and  asserts  that 
4  'our  soil  and  our  sovereignty  have  been  invaded. ' ' 

A  joint  committee  at  this  session  of  the  Legislature 
was  appointed  to  investigate  and  report.  John  Holmes 
was  its  chairman  on  the  part  of  the  House. 

Their  report  of  ten  pages  was  one  of  the  most  search 
ing  that  had  been  made,  and  they  submitted  the  follow 
ing  resolutions : 

"Resolved,  That  we  view  with  much  solicitude  the 
British  usurpations  and  encroachments  on  the  north 
eastern  part  of  the  territory  of  this  State. 

"Resolved,  That  pretensions  so  groundless  and 
extravagant  indicate  a  spirit  of  hostility  which  we  had  no 
reason  to  expect  from  a  nation  with  whom  we  are  at 
peace. 


[47] 

"Resolved,  That  vigilance,  resolution,  firmness  and 
union  on  the  part  of  this  State,  are  necessary  in  this 
state  of  the  controversy. 

"Resolved,  That  the  Governor  be  authorized  and 
requested  to  call  on  the  President  of  the  United  States 
to  cause  the  North  Eastern  Boundary  of  this  State  to  be 
explored  and  surveyed  and  monuments  erected  according 
to  the  Treaty  of  1783. 

"Resolved,  That  the  cooperation  of  Massachusetts 
be  requested. 

"Resolved,  That  our  Senators  in  Congress  be 
instructed,  and  our  Representatives  requested  to  endeavor 
to  obtain  a  speedy  adjustment  of  the  controversy. 

"Resolved,  That  copies  of  this  report  and  resolutions 
be  transmitted  to  the  Governor  of  Massachusetts,  the 
President  of  the  United  States,  to  each  of  our  Senators 
and  Representatives  in  Congress  and  other  Senators  in 
Congress,  and  the  Governors  of  the  several  States. ' ' 

When  the  Legislature  of  1838  had  assembled,  the 
people  of  Maine  had  become  exasperated,  for  since  the 
adjournment  of  the  last  Legislature,  the  depredations 
and  trespasses  upon  territory  that  was  in  dispute,  also 
upon  portions  of  territory  to  which  the  title  of  Maine 
was  practically  undisputed,  had  increased  to  an  alarming 
degree. 

The  province  people,  evidently  fully  supported  by  their 
officials  and  the  government  of  Great  Britain,  had  never 
before  been  so  arrogant,  defiant  and  insolent  in  extend 
ing  by  force  and  unlawful  means,  their  alleged  jurisdic- 
tional  rights,  as  during  the  years  then  drawing  to  a 
close.  The  conditions  were  acute  and  the  situation 
serious. 

The  Whigs  had  gained  the  ascendancy  in  Maine  and 
had  elected  Edward  Kent,  governor.  Governor  Kent 
was  an  able  lawyer  and  a  profound  jurist,  arid  was  for 


[48] 

many  years  after,  one  of  the  ablest,  members  of  the 
Supreme  Court  of  this  State.  He  had  informed  himself 
fully  of  the  complex  conditions  and  had  given  the  whole 
matter  careful  consideration,  hence,  his  elaboration  of  it 
in  his  annual  message  is  such  a  lucid  history  of  the 
events  to  that  time,  and  the  rights  of  Maine  as  viewed 
from  a  conservative  and  judicial  standpoint,  that  copious 
extracts  are  herein  made  from  it.  Among  other  things 
he  said: 

"Constitutional  Law  is  the  broad  and  ample  shield 
under  which  a  whole  people  rest  in  security  and  peace. 
Like  the  atmosphere  in  which  we  move,  it  presses  with 
immense,  but  equal  and  balanced  power,  to  sustain  the 
body  politic.  It  protects  the  infant  in  its  cradle  and  the 
magistrate  in  the  seat  of  Justice.  It  gives  the  conscious 
ness  of  security  and  safety  to  the  unarmed  and  the  peace 
ful,  and  is  more  than  bolts  and  bars  in  guarding  every 
man's  castle — his  own  domestic  hearth.  The  weak  fear 
not  the  strength  of  the  powerful,  and  the  poor  and 
despised  tremble  not  at  the  oppressor's  frown.  To  such 
law  every  good  citizen  bows  in  cheerful  submission,  and 
with  ready  acquiescence,  for  it  is  but  the  embodied 
expression  of  his  own  sovereignty.  But  when,  instead 
of  the  law  of  legislation,  we  have  the  law  of  the  strong 
est,  and,  instead  of  judicial  and  executive  administration, 
the  summary  inflictions  of  an  infuriated  mob,  stung  to 
madness  by  temporary  rage,  savage,  remorseless  and  irre 
sponsible,  excited  by  some  imagined  insult  or  real  injury, 
or  perhaps  by  the  expression  of  obnoxious  and  unpopular 
sentiments — we  have  a  state  of  society  at  which  the 
boldest  may  well  tremble,  and  the  most  ardent  despair. 
********* 

"It  is  certainly  a  remarkable  fact,  that  fifty-five  years 
after  the  recognition  of  American  independence  by 
Great  Britain,  and  the  formal  and  precise  demarkation 


[49] 

of  our  limits,  in  the  treaty  of  peace,  the  extent  of  those 
limits,  and  the  territory  rightfully  subject  to  our  juris 
diction,  should  be  a  matter  of  dispute  and  difference. 
I  feel  it  to  be  my  duty,  in  this  my  first  official  act,  to 
call  your  attention  to  that  vitally  important  question, 
the  true  limits  of  our  State,  and  to  express  to  you  and 
the  people  my  views  of  the  claim  set  up  by  a  foreign 
State  to  the  rightful  possession  of  a  large  part  of  our 
territory. 

"I  do  not  intend  to  enter  into  a  historical  detail,  or 
an  elaborate  argument  to  sustain  the  American  claim  on 
our  North  Eastern  Boundary.  The  whole  subject  has 
been  for  years  before  the  people,  and  our  rights,  and  the 
grounds  upon  which  they  rest,  have  been  ably  main 
tained,  and  clearly  set  forth,  in  our  formal  documents 
and  informal  discussions. 

"I  will  not  trespass  needlessly  upon  your  time  and 
patience  by  a  recapitulation.  If  there  is  any  meaning 
in  plain  language,  and  any  binding  force  in  treaty 
engagements — if  recognition  and  acquiescence  for  a  long 
series  of  years  on  the  part  of  Great  Britain  in  one  uni 
form  expression  and  construction  of  the  boundaries  of 
her  Provinces  of  Canada  and  Nova  Scotia,  is  of  any 
weight,  then  the  right  of  Maine  to  the  territory  in 
dispute  is  as  clear  and  unquestionable  as  to  the  spot  upon 
which  we  now  stand.  It  requires,  indeed,  the  exercise 
of  charity  to  reconcile  the  claim  now  made  by  Great 
Britain  with  her  professions  of  strict  integrity  and  high 
sense  of  justice  in  her  dealings  with  other  nations;  for  it 
is  a  claim  of  very  recent  origin,  growing  from  an 
admitted  right  in  us,  and  proceeding,  first,  to  a  request 
to  vary  our  acknowledged  line  for  an  equivalent,  and  then, 
upon  a  denial,  to  a  wavering  doubt,  and  from  thence  to 
an  absolute  claim. 


[50] 

"It  has  required  and  still  requires,  all  the  talents  of 
her  statesmen,  and  skill  of  her  diplomatists,  to  render 
that  obscure  and  indefinite,  which  is  clear  and  unam 
biguous.  I  cannot  for  a  moment  doubt  that  if  the  same 
question  should  arise  in  private  life,  in  relation  of  the 
boundaries  of  two  adjacent  farms,  with  the  same  evidence 
and  the  same  arguments,  it  would  be  decided  by  any 
court,  in  any  civilized  country,  without  hesitation  or 
doubt,  according  to  our  claim. 

"But  Great  Britain  was  anxious  for  a  direct  communi 
cation  between  her  provinces.  She  sought  it  first  as  a 
favor  and  a  grant.  She  now  demands  about  one  third 
part  of  our  territory  as  her  right. 

"The  pertinacity  and  apparent  earnestness  and  confi 
dence  with  which  this  claim  is  urged,  in  the  very  face  of 
the  treaty,  and  the  facts  bearing  upon  the  question, 
have  been  increased,  I  fear,  by  the  probably  unexpected 
forbearance,  if  not  favor,  with  which  they  have  been 
received  and  treated  by  the  American  authorities.  It 
can  hardly  be  a  matter  of  surprise  that  the  claim  is 
pressed  upon  us,  when  instead  of  standing  upon  the 
treaty — plain,  definite  and  capable  of  execution  as  it 
manifestly  is — our  own  General  Government  has  volun 
tarily  suggested  a  variation  of  that  line,  certainly  in 
their  favor,  by  running  west  of  the  due  north  line  of  the 
treaty,  and  there  to  seek  the  highlands ;  thus  yielding  up 
the  starting  point,  the  northwest  angle  of  Nova  Scotia, 
and  throwing  the  whole  matter  into  uncertainty  and  con 
fusion.  Fortunately  for  us,  the  English  negotiators, 
thinking,  probably,  that  a  nation  which  would  yield 
so  much,  would  probably  yield  more,  declined  the 
proposition,  unless  other  concessions  were  made.  The 
remarkable  adjudication  made  by  the  arbiter  selected 
under  the  treaty,  resulting  merely  in  advice,  the  move 
ment  on  the  part  of  Maine,  in  1832,  in  the  negotiation 


[51] 

to  yielding  up  the  territory  for  an  equivalent,  the  appar 
ent  apathy  and  indifference  of  the  General  Government 
to  the  encroaching  jurisdiction  by  New  Brunswick,  her 
unopposed  establishment  of  a  wardenship  over  the  terri 
tory — the  repeated  incarceration  of  the  citizens  of 
Maine,  for  acts  done  on  this  her  territory,  almost  with 
out  a  murmur  of  disapprobation  or  remonstrance,  and 
the  delay  of  the  President  to  run  the  line  as  authorized 
by  Congress,  have  all,  I  fear,  served  to  strengthen  and 
encourage  the  claim,  which  was  first  put  forth  with  doubt 
and  argued  with  many  misgivings. 

"The  commission  and  arbitration  under  treaty  having 
failed,  and  our  ultra  liberal  offers  either  declined  or 
neglected,  the  parties  are  turned  back  to  their  rights  and 
their  limits  under  the  treaties  of  1783  and  1814. 

"But  in  truth,  the  only  question  in  dispute,  or  about 
which  there  was  any  difference  between  the  two  govern 
ments,  until  since  the  last  war  and  the  last  treaty,  was 
to  which  river  was  the  true  St.  Croix  of  the  treaty. 
This  being  settled,  and  its  head  or  source  fixed,  (as  it 
has  been)  the  line  is  to  run  due  north  to  the  south  line 
of  Canada,  and  the  northwest  angle  of  Nova  Scotia. 
That  line  should  be  run  without  delay,  as  authorized  by 
Congress. 

"We  warrant  the  information  and  the  facts;  we  wish 
to  examine  the  heighth  of  land  which  divides  the  waters 
flowing  into  the  St.  Lawrence  from  those  running  into 
the  Atlantic,  and  ascertain  its  elevation  and  character. 
We  wish  to  have  our  land  marks  placed  on  our  exterior 
limits,  and  maintain  our  own. 

"We  wish  to  test  the  truth  of  the  assertion,  that 
there  is  no  northwest  angle  of  Nova  Scotia,  and  no  such 
dividing  heighth  of  land  as  the  treaty  contemplates,  by 
a  correct  and  scientific  examination  on  the  face  of  the 
earth.  Surely  rights  of  examination,  which  are  secured 


[52] 

to  individual  claimants,  are  not  to  be  denied  to  sovereign 
States. 

"Our  situation  in  relation  to  this  question,  owing  to 
the  peculiar  nature  of  our  government  and  institutions, 
is  interesting,  viewed  either  with  reference  to  the  foreign 
power  with  which  we  are  at  issue,  or  our  own  General 
Government.  Our  right  and  title,  clear  and  perfect  as 
we  believe  them  to  be,  are,  it  must  be  admitted,  subjects 
of  dispute,  and  the  first  and  great  question  is,  how  is 
this  dispute  to  be  settled?  The  line  disputed  is  the 
Eastern  boundary  of  the  United  States  and  of  the  State 
of  Maine.  The  General  Government  is  the  only  power 
which  by  the  constitution  can  treat  with  a  foreign 
government,  or  be  acknowledged  or  known  by  that 
government,  in  negotiations.  Maine  acknowledges  the 
right  of  the  General  Government  to  establish  the  line, 
according  to  the  terms  of  the  treaty  of  1783,  and  claims 
a  performance  of  that  duty  without  delay.  But  whilst 
she  concedes  that  power,  she  insists  with  equal  confidence 
upon  the  position,  that  no  variation  of  the  treaty  line, 
no  concession  of  any  part  of  our  territory,  and  no  con 
ventional  line  can  be  granted  or  adopted,  without  the 
consent  of  this  State. 

"Whatever  territory  is  included  within  the  line  run 
ning  from  the  northwest  angle  of  Nova  Scotia  west- 
wardly  along  the  highlands  which  divide  those  rivers  that 
empty  themselves  into  the  St.  Lawrence,  from  those 
which  fall  into  the  Atlantic  ocean,  to  the  northwestern- 
most  head  of  the  Connecticut  river,  and  the  line  running 
directly  south  from  said  angle  to  the  established  source 
of  the  St.  Croix,  is  within  the  State  of  Maine. 

'  'If  there  is  a  dispute  as  to  the  location  of  that  angle, 
and  those  lines — that  question,  and  that  question  only, 
is  to  be  settled  by  the  general  government. 


[53] 

"In  making  this  assertion,  we  do  not  more  distinctly 
acknowledge  a  power  than  claim  the  performance  of  a 
duty.  In  the  first  sentence  of  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States,  one  of  the  important  objects  in  the 
information  of  that  constitution,  as  there  expressed,  is 
'to  provide  for  the  common  defence,'  and  this  duty  is 
afterwards  in  the  same  instrument,  more  specifically 
pointed  out  in  the  provision,  that,  'The  United  States 
shall  guarantee  to  every  State  in  this  Union  a  republican 
form  of  government,  and  shall  protect  each  of  them 
against  invasion.'  Under  that  constitution,  the  exer 
cise  of  certain  rights  was  denied  to  the  States;  all  not 
expressly  taken  away  were  reserved  to  the  States — and 
certain  new  rights  were  created. 

"Foremost,  and  most  important,  of  these  newly 
created  State  rights,  is  the  right,  on  the  part  of  each 
State,  to  demand  the  aid  of  all,  by  the  action  of  the 
general  government,  whenever  any  foreign  power  inter 
feres  with  the  territorial  rights  of  such  State. 

"No  State  is  to  be  left  to  defend  its  soil  and  maintain 
its  just  rights  single  handed  and  alone, — to  engage  in 
border  skirmishes  and  partizan  warfare,  and  sustain  that 
warfare  at  its  own  expense. 

"It  is  the  duty  of  a  State  to  claim  and  assert  its 
rights  to  jurisdiction,  and  it  is  the  duty  of  the  general 
government  to  protect  and  maintain  them,  if  just  and 
well  founded.  The  acknowledgement  of  this  State  right 
to  protection  is  particularly  important  to  Maine, 
environed  by  foreign  territory,  and  forming  a  frontier 
State  in  the  Union.  Denied  the  power  to  negotiate 
with  foreign  governments,  or  to  declare  and  carry  on 
war  in  defence  of  her  rights,  this  State  can  call,  in  a 
strong  voice,  upon  that  government  to  which  has  been 
delegated  those  high  powers,  for  protection  in  the  exer 
cise  of  her  jurisdictional  rights.  Perfect  unity  of  pur- 


[54] 

pose  and  frankness  in  disclosures  ought  to  characterise 
all  intercourse  between  the  State  and  National  Govern 
ments,  on  this  topic.  No  course  is  so  well  calculated  to 
lead  to  distrust  and  embarrassment,  and  to  inspire  confi 
dence  in  the  opposing  claimants,  as  diplomatic  evasions 
and  jarring  and  discordant  correspondence.  We  would 
use  no  threats  of  disunion  or  resistance.  We  trust  that 
it  will  never  be  necessary  for  a  State  to  assume  a  hostile 
attitude,  or  threatening  language,  to  enforce  practically 
its  claims  to  protection. 

"But  Maine  has  a  right  to  know,  fully  and  explicitly, 
the  opinion  and  determination  of  the  general  govern 
ment,  and  whether  she  is  to  be  protected,  or  left  to 
straggle  alone  and  unaided.  I  see  little  to  hope  from 
the  forbearance  or  action  of  the  British  government. 
Their  policy,  it  is  apparent,  is  to  delay  a  settlement  of 
the  question,  and  to  extend  their  actual  jurisdiction  over 
the  territory,  that  it  may  ripen  into  a  right,  or  at  least  in 
future  controversies  give  them  the  advantage  of  pos 
session. 

"The  loose  and  extremely  undefined  jurisdiction  over 
the  small  French  Settlement  at  Madawaska,  has  been  the 
foundation  of  a  claim  to  actual  jurisdiction,  and  the 
establishment  of  wardenship  over  the  whole  territory. 
In  pursuance  of  this  plan  and  policy,  they  have  seized, 
at  various  times,  heretofore,  American  citizens,  and 
thrust  them  into  prison,  for  alleged  offences, — and  dur 
ing  the  past  season,  the  Lieut.  Governor  of  New  Bruns 
wick  has  visited  the  territory  in  person,  and  received  the 
loyal  assurance  of  such  of  its  inhabitants  as  were  ready 
to  acknowledge  their  allegiance.  A  citizen  of  our  State, 
Ebenezer  S.  Greeley,  now  lies  imprisoned  at  Fredericton, 
seized,  as  it  is  said,  for  exercising  power  delegated  to 
him  under  a  law  of  this  State.  The  facts  connected 


[55] 

with  this  arrest  are  unknown  to  me,  and  I  therefore  for 
bear  to  comment  at  this  time  upon  them. 

"If  the  facts  are,  that  he  was  so  seized,  for  such  a 
lawful  act,  the  dignity  and  sovereignty  of  the  State  and 
nation  demand  his  immediate  release. 

"I  am  aware  that  we  are  met  by  the  assertion  that 
the  parties  have  agreed  to  permit  the  actual  j  urisdiction 
to  remain,  pending  the  negotiation  as  it  existed  before. 
I  have  yet  seen  no  evidence  that  such  an  agreement  was 
ever  formally  entered  into  by  the  parties.  But  certainly 
Maine  was  no  party  to  such  an  understanding,  and  at  all 
events  it  could  never  have  been  intended  to  be  perpetu 
ally  binding,  or  to  extend  beyond  the  termination  of  the 
then  pending  negotiation.  That  negotiation  is  ended. 
The  old  ground  of  claim  at  Mars  Hill  is  abandoned;  a 
new  allegation  is  made — that  the  treaty  cannot  be  exe 
cuted  and  must  be  laid  aside.  In  the  meantime  this 
wardenship  is  established,  and  the  claim  to  absolute 
jurisdiction,  not  merely  at  Madawaska,  but  over  the 
whole  territory  north,  is  asserted  and  enforced. 

"If  this  jurisdiction  is  to  be  tolerated  and  acquiesced 
in  indefinitely,  we  can  easily  see  why  negotiation  lags, 
and  two  years  elapse  between  a  proposition  and  the 
reply.  They  have  all  they  want,  and  the  jurisdiction  is 
claimed  by  them  so  absolutely  that  we  cannot  send  an 
agent  to  number  the  people,  and  must  hesitate  before 
the  disputed  line  can  be  run,  to  fix  our  limits  and  ascer 
tain  important  facts. 

"The  first  duty  of  Maine,  as  it  seems  to  me,  is  to  claim 
the  immediate  action  of  the  general  government,  to 
move  efficiently  and  decidedly,  to  bring  the  controversy 
to  a  conclusion.  We  have  had  years  of  negotiation, 
and  we  are  told  that  we  are  apparently  no  nearer  to  a 
termination  than  at  the  commencement.  Maine  has 


[56] 

waited  with  most  exemplary  patience,  until  even  her 
large  stock  is  almost  exhausted. 

'  'She  has  no  disposition  to  embarrass  the  action  of  the 
General  Government,  but  she  asks  that  some  action  be 
had — some  movement  made  with  a  determined  purpose 
to  end  the  controversy. 

"She  cannot  quietly  submit  to  have  her  territory 
wrested  from  her,  her  citizens  imprisoned,  her  territorial 
jurisdiction  annihilated,  and  her  rights  lost  by  the  bold 
and  persevering  and  unopposed  claims  of  a  foreign 
power.  She  cannot  consent  to  be  left  alone  in  the  con 
troversy,  or  to  be  left  in  doubt  as  to  the  aid  or  counte 
nance  she  may  receive  from  the  authorities  of  the  Union 
in  maintaining  her  acknowledged  rights.  She  asks  the 
quiet  and  undisturbed  possession  of  her  territory,  accord 
ing  to  the  treaty,  and  that  foreign  and  intrusive  posses 
sion  be  put  an  end  to ;  and  by  this  claim  she  will  abide. 
She  will  do  nothing  rashly,  and  indulge  in  no  spirit  of 
nullification ;  and  it  will  not  be  until  all  hope  of  settling 
the  vexed  question  by  negotiation,  and  all  requests  for 
other  aid  are  denied  or  neglected,  that  she  will  throw 
herself  entirely  upon  her  own  resources,  and  maintain, 
unaided  and  alone,  her  just  rights,  in  the  determined 
spirit  of  injured  freemen.  But  those  rights  must  be 
vindicated  and  maintained ;  and  if  all  appeals  for  aid  and 
protection  are  in  vain,  and  her  constitutional  rights  are 
disregarded,  forbearance  must  cease  to  be  a  virtue — and, 
in  the  language  of  the  lamented  Lincoln,  Maine  may  be 
'compelled  to  deliberate  on  an  alternative  which  will 
test  the  strictness  of  her  principles  and  the  firmness  of 
her  temper. '  The  recent  movement  in  Congress  by  one 
of  our  Representatives — sustained,  as  we  confidently 
trust,  by  his  colleagues,  gives  some  encouragement  to 
hope  that  the  day  for  decisive  action  is  at  hand. 

"To  you — delegated  guardians  of  the  people's  rights 


[57] 

— I  submit  these  remarks,  and  to  you  I  leave  the  consid 
eration  of  this  momentous  subject,  confident  that  you 
will  not  yield  to  an  unjust  claim,  or  jeopardize  our 
rights  by  delay  in  asserting  them.  It  is  for  you  to  say 
upon  mature  reflection,  whether,  in  speaking  in  the 
name  of  Maine,  I  have  exceeded  the  bounds  of  prudence, 
or  mistaken  the  feelings  of  the  people.  I  confess  that 
my  convictions  are  strong,  that  Maine  has  been  wronged 
by  a  foreign  government,  and  neglected  by  our  own — 
and  I  do  not  understand  the  diplomatic  art  of  softening 
the  expression  of  unpalatable  truths. 

"I  can  only  assure  you  that  I  most  cheerfully  co-op 
erate  in  maintaining  our  rights  to  protection  in  the  exer 
cise  of  our  rightful  jurisdiction." 

From  the  time  when  the  King  of  the  Netherlands  in 
1831,  rendered  his  decision  until  the  whole  matter  came 
to  a  crisis  in  Maine  in  1839,  the  Federal  government 
did  not  make  any  decisive  move  that  would  be  a  notice 
to  the  world  that  her  frontier  in  Maine  was  to  be  pro 
tected  at  all  hazards. 

History  often  repeats  itself.  Then  even  more  than 
now  the  party  in  power  was  inclined  to  consider  first  of 
all  what  effect  such  action  would  have  upon  its  political 
fortunes. 

President  Jackson  had  not  acted  with  his  usual  vigor 
and  aggressiveness  in  any  attempts  to  settle  this  question 
with  England  and  preserve  our  rights,  maintain  our 
national  honor,  and  protect  the  rights  and  honor  of  a 
sovereign  state  against  the  overt  acts  of  a  foreign  power. 
He  had  disappointed  his  political  friends  and  lent 
encouragement  to  his  enemies  in  both  Maine  and  Massa 
chusetts. 

President  Van  Buren  took  his  seat  in  1838,  and,, 
although  the  situation  was  much  more  serious  than  at 
any  time  during  Jackson's  administration,  he  was  equally 


[58] 

as  inclined  to  procrastinate  if  not  to  vacillate  about  this 
subject  of  such  vast  importance,  as  was  his  predecessor. 

During  this  period  Maine  had  been  ably  represented 
in  both  houses  of  Congress. 

In  the  Senate  had  been  such  men  as  Ether  Shepley, 
Peleg  Sprague,  John  Holmes  and  Reuel  Williams. 

In  the  lower  house  had  been  George  Evans,  F.  O.  J. 
Smith,  Gorham  Parks,  Leonard  Jar  vis  and  Virgil  D. 
Paris.  It  was  at  this  time,  1837-39,  that  Thomas 
Davee  of  Blanchard  was  a  representative. 

The  Maine  delegation  heartily  supported  by  the 
Massachusetts  delegation  had  been  incessant  in  their 
efforts  to  force  the  administration  to  action. 

Of  their  vigilance  and  faithfulness  in  this  respect  and 
their  endeavors  to  constantly  keep  this  issue  a  prominent 
one  before  the  country  there  can  be  no  doubt. 

And  yet  eloquent  speeches  in  Congress,  convincing 
passages  in  Governors'  messages  and  exciting  reports  and 
resolves  of  legislative  committees,  however  much  they 
might  have  aroused  public  sentiment  in  Maine,  failed  of 
having  any  salutory  effect  upon  our  arrogant  neighbors 
across  the  border,  sustained  as  they  were  by  the  power 
ful  arm  of  Great  Britain,  so  long  as  the  policy  of  the 
national  government  was  a  passive  one. 

Rather  did  their  magistrates  become  more  defiant  in 
claiming  jurisdictional  rights  over  the  disputed  territory, 
by  issuing  civil  and  criminal  processes  against  the  settlers 
along  the  Aroostook,  Madawaska  and  upper  St.  John 
Rivers,  and  their  officers  more  bold  and  domineering, 
and  trespassing  on  these  lands  was  increasing. 

On  the  14th  of  December,  1838,  the  land  agents  of 
Massachusetts  and  Maine,  appointed  George  W.  Buck- 
more  an  agent  to  proceed  to  the  Fish  Rivers,  and  investi 
gate  the  trespassing  by  New  Brunswick  parties  and  pre 
vent  such  trespassing  if  possible. 


[59] 

Based  upon  the  report  which  Buckmore  made  to  the 
land  agent  and  other  similar  reports  Governor  Fairfield, 
January  23,  1839,  submitted  to  the  Legislature  a  mes 
sage,  in  which  he  asserted  that,  "By  this  report  it 
appears  that  a  large  number  of  men,  many  of  them,  I 
am  informed,  from  the  British  provinces,  are  trespassing 
very  extensively  upon  the  lands  belonging  to  this  State : 
that,  they  not  only  refuse  to  desist,  but  defy  the  power 
of  this  government  to  prevent  their  cutting  timber  to 
any  extent  they  please. 

"Upon  the  Grand  River,  it  is  estimated  there  are  from 
forty  to  fifty  men  at  work.  On  the  Green  River,  from 
twenty  to  thirty. 

"On  the  Fish  River,  from  fifty  to  seventy-five  men 
with  sixteen  yoke  of  oxen  and  ten  pair  of  horses,  and 
more  daily  expected  to  go  in.  On  township  H  ten  men, 
six  oxen  and  one  pair  of  horses.  On  the  little  Mada- 
waska  seventy-five  men,  with  twenty  yoke  of  oxen  and 
ten  horses.  At  the  Aroostook  Falls  fifteen  men  with 
six  yoke  of  oxen. 

"The  quantity  of  timber  which  these  trespassers  will 
cut  the  present  winter  is  estimated  in  value,  by  the 
Land  Agent  at  one  hundred  thousand  dollars. ' ' 

And  the  Governor  very  pertinently  remarked  that  it 
was  not  merely  the  property  that  was  at  stake,  but  "the 
character  of  the  State  is  clearly  involved." 

He  recommended  to  the  Legislature  that  the  land 
agent  be  instructed  forthwith  to  proceed  to  the  place  of 
operation  on  the  Aroostook  and  Fish  Rivers  with  a  suf 
ficient  number  of  men  suitably  equipped,  to  "seize  the 
teams  and  provisions,  break  up  the  camps,  and  disperse 
those  who  are  engaged  in  this  work  of  devastation  and 
pillage. ' ' 


[60] 

In  this  report  Mr.  Buckmore*  says:  "During  my 
stop  at  the  Madawaska  settlement,  I  was  called  upon  by 
Francis  Rice,  and  Leonard  R.  Coombs,  Esquires,  two  of 
the  Magistrates  living  at  Madawaska,  to  learn  my  busi 
ness  on  the  St.  John  River,  which  I  freely  communicated. 
They  said  they  were  authorized  by  the  Governor  to  arrest 
all  persons  attempting  to  exercise  jurisdiction,  on  the 
part  of  the  American  Government,  in  the  Madawaska 
settlement,  and  that  they  should  forward  a  copy 
of  my  instructions  to  the  Governor  at  Fredericton. ' ' 

January  24,  1839,  the  Legislature  passed  a  resolve 
instructing  and  empowering  the  land  agent  to  carry  out 
the  recommendations  of  the  Governor  and  appropriating 
ten  thousand  dollars  for  the  purpose. 

In  1838,  the  Democrats  had  defeated  Governor  Kent, 
the  Whig  governor,  and  were  again  in  power  in  Maine 
and  had  elected  John  Fairfield,  governor,  who  was 
inaugurated  in  1839. 

He  appointed  Rufus  Mclntire  of  Parsonsfield,  land 
agent. 

Mr.  Mclntire  was  unquestionably  a  man  of  ability  and 
integrity.  He  was  a  lawyer  and  had  represented  his 
district  in  Congress  four  terms. 

Pursuant  to  the  legislative  resolve  above  referred  to 
Governor  Fairfield  ordered  the  land  agent  to  go  to  the 
Aroostook  and  Madawaska  country  for  the  purpose  of 
carrying  out  the  provisions  of  the  resolve. 

Mr.  Mclntire  employed  Major  Hastings  Strickland  of 
Bangor,  then  sheriff  of  Penobscot  County,  to  accompany 
and  assist  him  in  this  work. 

Consequently  an  expedition  left  Bangor  during  the 
first  week  of  February,  1839,  consisting  of  the  land 
agent,  Major  Hastings  Strickland,  with  a  large  civil 

*Buckmore's  report  was  made  to  Elijah  L.  Hamlin,  land  agent, 
in  1838. 


RlTFUS    MclNTIRE 

LAND  AGENT  or  MAINE,  1H3!) 


[61] 

posse,   Ebenezer  Webster  and  Captain  Stover  Rines  of 
Orono,  and  Gustavus  G.  Cushman  of  Bangor. 

They  proceeded  to  the  mouth  of  the  Little  Madawaska 
River,  where  they  encamped. 

During  the  night  of  February  12,  the  house  or  camp 
where  Mclntire  slept  was  surrounded  by  about  forty 
armed  men.  Mclntire  and  those  with  him  were  awak 
ened,  placed  under  arrest  and  ordered  to  be  ready  at 
once  to  march  to  Fredericton.  Mclntire  demanded  by 
what  authority  they  arrested  him,  and  the  commander 
pointing  his  musket  at  Mclntire's  breast,  said,  "This  is 
our  authority." 

They  were  taken  before  a  magistrate  at  Woodstock, 
who  issued  a  warrant  against  Land  Agent  Mclntire, 
Gustavus  G.  Cushman  and  Thomas  B.  Bartlett  of  Ban 
gor,  and  they  were  forthwith  marched  to  Fredericton 
and  lodged  in  jail. 

On  Sunday,  February  17th,  the  citizens  of  Bangor 
enjoyed  the  sight  of  two  of  the  leading  men  among  the 
province  trespassers,  Mr.  McLaughlin,  warden  of  the 
public  lands  in  New  Brunswick,  and  Captain  Tibbets  of 
the  Tobique  settlement,  being  escorted  as  prisoners 
through  the  streets  of  that  city. 

They  had  been  captured  by  the  Maine  soldiers  a  few 
days  before  and  were  taken  to  Bangor,  but  unlike  the 
prisoners  captured  by  the  British  they  were  not  lodged 
in  the  Bangor  jail,  but  were  lodged  in  the  Bangor  House 
and  fared  sumptuously.* 

*The  Bangor  Whig,  in  speaking  of  this  occurrence,  editorially, 
remarked : 

"It  is  worthy  of  remark  and  remembrance,  that  our  Land  Agent, 
when  passing  through  Woodstock,  was  greeted  with  jeers  and 
insults  by  British  Subjects,  but  when  the  British  Land  Agent  rode 
through  this  city,  although  there  were  over  a  thousand  people  assem 
bled  in  the  streets,  he  was  suffered  to  pass  in  silence.  Not  a  lip 
was  opened  or  an  insult  offered." 


[62] 

On  March  1,  1839,  news  was  received  in  Bangor  that 
a  regiment  of  eight  hundred  Fusileers  had  arrived  in 
the  city  of  St.  John,  from  Cork,  Ireland,  and  would 
march  forthwith  to  the  disputed  territory.  Five 
hundred  British  Regulars  had  arrived  at  Madawaska 
from  the  city  of  Quebec,  and  eight  pieces  of  cannon 
had  been  transported  up  the  St.  John  River  from 
Fredericton.  The  people  of  Maine  were  kept  informed 
of  the  doings  at  the  "Seat  of  War"  by  special  mes 
sengers,  stages  and  express  teams,  daily  coming  into 
Bangor.  The  Bangor  Whig  was  published  daily,  and 
was  one  of  the  most  enterprising  of  the  Maine  news 
papers  of  the  day. 

It  kept  a  "war  correspondent"  at  Houlton  and  had 
a  column  or  more  in  every  issue  for  several  weeks,  giving 
graphic  descriptions  of  the  scenes  of  "war,"  of  the 
hardships  which  were  encountered,  and  of  the  soldiers 
tenting  on  the  melting  snow-drifts,  all  the  way  from 
Houlton  to  Madawaska.  Some  of  this  correspondence 
would  have  done  credit  to  the  "stories"  of  the 
"yellow"  journals  of  today. 

In  one  of  these  letters,  published  March  7th,  the 
writer  says:  *  "let  us  give  every  hireling 

and  subject  of  a  monarchy,  that  grant  to  territory, 
which  King  Harold  of  yore  was  willing  to  give  to  the 
Norwegian  King — seven  feet  by  two." 

The  news  of  that  day  and  the  editorials  in  the  papers 
at  the  time,  were  more  or  less  colored  by  the  issues  of 
Maine  politics.  The  Bangor  Whig  was  violently  parti 
san  and  for  a  time  did  not  give  Governor  Fairfield,  who 
was  a  Democrat,  and  had  been  chosen  governor  over 
Governor  Kent,  credit  for  being  either  competent  or 
patriotic.  But  as  the  public  mind  became  intensified 
in  favor  of  protecting  our  border,  it  changed  its  course 
and  was  soon  supporting  his  official  acts  as  loyally  as  did 


[63] 

The  Argus,  The  Age,  or  any  of  the  Democratic  papers. 

When  Sheriff  Strickland  first  went  to  the  Aroostook 
with  his  posse,  and  when  Mclntire  was  taken  prisoner 
by  Sir  John  Harvey's  officers,  the  Whig  papers  contended 
that  Mclntire*  left  his  camp  and  troops  and  went  within 
a  mile  of  the  enemy  to  obtain  a  feather  bed  to  sleep 
upon,  and  was  thus  seen  and  captured,  and  that  if  he 
had  been  content  to  have  reposed  upon  spruce  boughs  he 
would  not  have  fallen  into  the  toils  of  the  enemy. 

Some  slurs  were  also  cast  upon  Hastings  Strickland  for 
what  they  termed  his  "untimely  haste,"  in  escaping  from 
the  British  officers,  intimating  that  he  was  cowardly, 
and  retreated  very  unceremoniously.  The  facts  however 
were  that  he  was  alert  enough  not  to  be  taken  prisoner, 
as  some  of  his  companions  were,  and  perceived  at  once 
the  necessity  for  immediate  and  decisive  action  on  the 
part  of  Governor  Fairfield  and  Adjutant  General 
Hodgdon,  if  Maine's  rights  were  to  be  protected.  Being 
a  man  of  great  energy  he  went  from  Madawaska  to 
Augusta  as  rapidly  as  relays  of  swift  horses  would  carry 
him|  for  the  purpose  of  prevailing  upon  the  State  gov 
ernment  at  Augusta  to  mobilize  troops  upon  the  border 
without  further  delay.  Major  Strickland  was  a  man  of 
political  sagacity  and  a  leader  of  influence  in  the  Demo 
cratic  party,  and  one  that  Governor  Fairfield  relied  upon 
for  advice  and  counsel. 

Naturally  both  political  parties  tried  to  make  political 
capital  for  themselves ;  the  effect  of  which  was  to  hinder 
efficient  progress  in  protecting  our  frontier. 

The  Democrats  criticized  Governor  Kent  in  1838,  and 


*When    Mclntire   was   imprisoned  Governor  Fairfield   appointed 
Colonel  Charles  Jarvis  provisional  land  agent. 

tBangor  newspapers  stated  that   Major  Strickland  did  not  even 
stop  at  his  home  in  Bangor  but  proceeded  directly  to  Augusta. 


[64] 

in  turn  the  Whigs  blamed  Governor  Fairfield  whenever 
it  was  possible  to  do  so. 

As  the  "Aroostook  War"  or  the  military  movement 
of  troops  to  the  frontier  was  made  under  Governor  Fair- 
field,  the  Whigs  for  many  years  thereafter,  kept  up  an 
incessant  fire  of  ridicule  against  him,  and  Land  Agent 
Mclntire  and  Major  Strickland. 

In  this  way  it  became  a  false  tradition  that  the  latter 
ran  away  from  a  conflict  to  escape  imprisonment.  One 
of  the  doggerels  of  the  day  commenced : 

"Run,  Strickland,  run! 

Fire,  Stover,  fire! 

Were  the  last  words  of  Mclntire." 

In  the  meantime  the  situation  was  becoming  more  and 
more  inflammatory.  It  was  the  subject  of  discussion  and 
agitation  in  England  as  well  as  America.  On  the  7th 
of  March,  1839,  both  Lord  Brougham  and  the  Duke  of 
Wellington  made  speeches  regarding  it  in  the  House  of 
Lords,  calling  attention  to  information  which  had  been 
received  from  Canada  and  New  Brunswick  to  the  effect 
that  lawless  Yankees  were  invading  and  trespassing  upon 
the  British  soil. 

When  the  people  of  Maine  received  news  of  the  proc 
lamation  of  Sir  John  Harvey,  lieutenant-governor  of 
New  Brunswick,  of  February  13,  1839,  which  was  a  dec 
laration  of  war,  and  the  imprisonment  of  the  land  agent, 
the  feeling  of  indignation  was  deep  and  universal. 

The  Legislature  appropriated  eight  hundred  thousand 
dollars  to  be  used  by  the  Governor  for  the  protection  of 
the  public  lands. 

A  draft  was  also  ordered  for  ten  thousand  three  hun 
dred  and  forty-three  men  from  the  militia  to  be  ready 
for  immediate  action. 

General  Bachelder  was  commander  of  the  western 
division  of  militia.  Many  volunteers  from  Penobscot 


[65] 

and  Piscataquis  Counties  and  other  eastern  portions  of 
the  State  were  also  enlisted. 

Within  a  week  ten  thousand  American  troops  were 
either  in  the  Aroostook  region,  or  on  the  march  there. 

The  national  government  was  at  last  awake  to  the 
seriousness  of  the  situation.  Congress  passed  a  bill 
authorizing  the  President  of  the  United  States  to  raise 
fifty  thousand  troops  for  the  support  of  Maine,  and 
appropriating  ten  million  dollars  to  meet  the  expense  if 
war  became  unavoidable. 

General  Scott  was  ordered  to  the  scene  of  action, 
informing  Governor  Fairfield  that  he  was  "specially 
charged  with  maintaining  the  peace  and  safety  of  the 
entire  northern  and  eastern  frontiers. ' '  He  arrived  in 
Augusta  with  his  staff  the  fifth  of  March,  1839,  and 
opened  headquarters. 

General  Scott  was  also  clothed  with  full  power  to  act 
as  mediator  between  the  State  of  Maine  and  the  Province 
of  New  Brunswick,  and  on  entering  upon  negotiations 
which  would  if  possible  end  further  hostilities.  He 
immediately  communicated  officially  with  Governor 
Fairfield  arid  Sir  John  Harvey. 

The  result  was  that  on  March  23,  1839,  Sir  John 
Harvey  agreed  to  the  terms  of  settlement  negotiated  by 
General  Scott,  and  on  March  25  the  same  were  ratified 
by  Governor  Fairfield,  who  immediately  issued  orders  to 
recall  the  troops  from  the  Aroostook  and  the  prisoners 
on  both  sides  were  liberated. 

Thus  ended  the  famous  "Aroostook  War/'  and 
fortunately  for  the  people  of  the  State  and  the  province 
it  was  a  bloodless  one.  It  has  been  derided  and  scoffed 
at  and  regarded  as  a  huge  international  joke,  and  often 
has  it  been  the  subject  for  jest  and  laughter  on  the 
stump,  and  ever  a  fertile  field  for  the  grotesque  wit  of 
newspaper  writers. 


[66] 

And  yet  it  is  an  incident  in  international  history,  in 
the  history  of  the  nation,  and  of  the  State  of  Maine, 
that  is  of  supreme  importance  and  interest. 

For  years  its  solution  puzzled  the  wisest  of  our  states 
men.  The  people  of  Maine  believed  that  the  territory 
which  they  possessed,  and  to  which  no  one  else  had  any 
rightful  or  lawful  interest,  was  being  wrongfully  and 
illegally  taken  from  them  and  that  the  government  at 
Washington  delayed  the  assertion  of  our  rights  unnec 
essarily,  because  it  feared  Great  Britain. 

Two  expeditions  were  made  to  the  Aroostook  and 
Madawaska  country.  The  first  one  as  we  have  seen,  was 
by  the  land  agent,  accompanied  by  Major  Strickland 
as  sheriff  of  Penobscot  County,  with  a  posse  of  men, 
for  the  purpose  of  driving  off  trespassers  upon  Maine 
soil.  The  second  expedition  was  a  military  one  to  repel 
an  invasion  of  the  State,  which  the  lieutenant-governor 
of  New  Brunswick,  Sir  John  Harvey,  had  threatened  to 
make. 

Patriotic  sons  of  the  Pine  Tree  State  left  their  homes 
and  firesides  in  the  most  inclement  season  known  to  our 
rigorous  climate  and  marched  through  the  deep  snows  of 
a  wilderness,  two  hundred  miles,  to  defend  our  frontier 
from  foreign  invasion,  when  the  Federal  government  was 
needlessly  procrastinating  and  turning  a  deaf  ear  to  the 
cries  of  suffering  and  oppressed  pioneers  in  the  upper  St. 
John  valley. 

Because  the  good  fortunes  of  diplomacy  triumphed 
and  averted  the  shedding  of  blood,  is  no  reason  why  they 
are  not  entitled  to  a  high  place  in  the  roll  of  honor,  with 
all  of  the  other  hosts  of  patriotic  defenders  of  our 
country,  and  the  protection  of  her  glory  and  renown. 

In  his  annual  message  January  3,  1840,  Governor 
Fairfield  in  referring  to  the  Resolves  of  the  Legislature, 
passed  in  March,  1839,  explains  the  withdrawal  of  the 


[67] 

troops,  by  saying:  "Soon  after  the  adoption  of  the 
resolution,  I  received  the  written  assent  of  the  Lieu 
tenant  Governor  of  New  Brunswick  to  the  following, 
made  to  him  by  Major  General  Scott,  to  wit:  'That  it 
is  not  the  intention  of  the  Lieutenant  Governor  of  Her 
Britannic  Majesty's  Province  of  New  Brunswick,  under 
the  expected  renewal  of  negotiations  between  the  Cabi 
nets  of  London  and  Washington  on  the  subject  of  said 
disputed  territory,  without  renewed  instructions  to  that 
effect,  from  his  government,  to  seek  to  take  military 
possession  of  that  territory,  or  to  seek  by  military  force, 
to  expel  the  armed  civil  posse  or  the  troops  of  Maine. ' 

Upon  the  basis  of  this  arrangement  the  troops  were 
recalled  by  the  Governor,  but  he  kept  quite  a  large  force 
or  civil  posse  there  after  the  withdrawal  of  the  troops, 
under  the  direction  and  control  of  the  land  agent. 

But  war  between  the  United  States  and  England  was 
averted  through  friendly  diplomacy.  What  is  known  as 
the  Webster- Ashburton  treaty  in  American  history  was 
its  final  adjustment.  This  treaty  was  negotiated  by 
Daniel  Webster  and  Lord  Alexander  Baring  Ashburton 
in  August,  1842,  and  subsequently  accepted  and  ratified 
by  both  governments. 

The  commissioners  who  represented  the  State  of  Maine 
at  the  hearings  before  Webster  and  Ashburton  were 
Edward  Kavanagh,  Edward  Kent,  Wm.  P.  Preble  and 
John  Otis. 

On  the  part  of  Massachusetts  appeared  Abbot 
Lawrence,  John  Mills  and  Charles  Allen. 

At  this  treaty  the  frontier  line  between  the  State  of 
Maine  and  Canada  was  settled  for  all  time. 

By  it,  seven  twelfths  of  the  disputed  ground,  including 
that  part  of  Madawaska  that  lies  on  the  southerly  side 
of  the  St.  John  River,  were  given  to  the  United  States, 
and  five  twelfths  of  the  ground  to  Great  Britain ;  but  it 


[68] 

secured  a  better  military  frontier  for  England,  and 
included  heights  commanding  the  St.  Lawrence,  which 
the  award  of  the  King  of  the  Netherlands  had  assigned 
to  the  Americans. 


MA.JOI?  HASTINGS  STKUKI.AM) 
SiiKHii'i'  OF  PKNOHSCOT  ('OTXTV.  1S.SS-J) 


DOCUMENTARY  HISTORY  OF  THE 

NORTH  EASTERN  BOUNDARY 

CONTROVERSY 


Documentary    History    of    the   North 
Eastern  Boundary  Controversy 

(From  State  Papers,   2nd  Sess.   20th  Cong.    1828-9, 
Doc.  No.   90.) 
Report  of  the  trial  of  John  Baker,   at  the  Bar  of  the 

Supreme  Court,   on  Thursday,   the   8th  May,    1828, 

for  conspiracy. 

In  the  Hilary  term  of  the  Supreme  Court,  the  Grand 
Jury  for  the  county  of  York  found  a  true  bill  of  indict 
ment  against  John  Baker,  James  Bacon  and  Charles 
Studson,  for  conspiracy.  The  two  defendants,  James 
Bacon  and  Charles  Studson,  were  not  taken ;  but  the 
defendant,  John  Baker,  being  in  custody,  was  brought 
to  the  bar  and  arraigned,  and  thereupon  pleaded  not 
guilty,  at  the  same  time  protesting  against  the  proceed 
ings,  and  that  he  was  not  amenable  to  the  jurisdiction 
of  this  court. 

He  was  afterwards,  during  the  term,  admitted  to  bail, 
and  entered  into  recognizance,  himself  in  £100,  and  two 
sureties  in  £50  each,  for  his  appearance  at  the  present 
term,  to  traverse  the  indictment,  and  in  the  meantime 
to  keep  the  peace  and  be  of  good  behavior. 

On  Wednesday,  the  7th  instant,  the  Attorney  General 
states  to  the  Court,  that,  having  understood  the  defend 
ant,  John  Baker,  was  in  attendance,  he  should  be  ready, 
at  the  opening  of  the  Court  on  the  next  day,  to  proceed 
with  the  trial.  One  of  the  bail  for  the  defendant  then 
said  that  the  defendant  would  appear  whenever  he  was 


[72] 

required.      Thursday  was,   therefore,   appointed  by  the 
Court  for  the  trial. 

Thursday,  May  8,  1828. 
The  honorable  Chief  Justice  Saunders, 
Mr.  Justice  Bliss, 
Mr.  Justice  Chipman, 
came  into  court,  and  took  their  seats. 

The  defendant,  John  Baker,  was  called,  and  appeared, 
and  declared  he  was  ready  for  his  trial :  Mr.  Attorney 
General  then  moved  for  trial,  and  the  clerk  of  the  crown 
proceeded  to  call  over  the  names  of  the  jury. 

Mr.  Justice  Chipman  stated  to  the  defendant  that  he 
might  challenge  any  of  the  jurors  for  cause,  but  he 
declined  availing  himself  of  this  privilege. 

The  following  jurors  were  called,  and  sworn  in  the 
order  they  appeared: 

Michael  Fisher,  Joseph  Estabrooks,  Jr., 

William  Miller,  John  Collins, 

Edward  Cambridge,  Samuel  Curry, 

John  Bain,  Thomas  W.  Peters, 

Joseph  Sutherland,  William  S.  Esty, 

Donald  McLeod,  Anthony  Stewart. 

The  clerk  of  the  crown  then  read  the  indictment, 
which  is  as  follows : 

York,  to  wit.  The  jurors  for  our  lord  the  King, 
upon  their  oath,  present,  that  John  Baker,  late  of  the 
parish  of  Kent,  in  the  county  of  York,  laborer,  James 
Bacon,  late  of  the  same  place,  laborer,  and  Charles 
Studson,  late  of  the  same  place,  laborer,  being  persons 
greatly  disaffected  to  our  said  lord  the  now  King,  and 
his  government,  within  this,  His  Majesty's  Province  of 
New  Brunswick,  and  being  factiously  and  seditiously 
disposed,  on  the  fourth  day  of  July,  in  the  eighth  year 
of  the  reign  of  our  said  sovereign  lord  George  the 


[73] 

Fourth,  with  force  and  arms,  at  the  parish  aforesaid, 
in  the  county  aforesaid,  did,  amongst  themselves,  con 
spire,  combine,  confederate,  and  agree  together,  falsely, 
maliciously,  factiously,  and  seditiously,  to  molest  and 
disturb  the  peace  and  common  tranquility  of  this  Prov 
ince,  and  to  bring  into  hatred  and  contempt  our  said 
lord  the  King,  and  his  Government,  and  to  create  false 
opinions  and  suspicions  in  the  subjects  of  our  said  lord 
the  King,  of  and  concerning  the  Government  and 
administration  of  our  said  lord  the  King,  and  of  the 
royal  power  and  prerogative  of  our  said  lord  the  King 
within  this  Province. 

First  overt  act.  And  the  jurors  aforesaid,  upon 
their  oath  aforesaid,  do  further  present,  that  the  said 
John  Baker,  James  Bacon,  and  Charles  Studson,  after 
wards,  to  wit,  on  the  same  day  and  year  aforesaid,  at 
the  parish  aforesaid,  in  the  county  aforesaid,  in  pursu 
ance  of,  and  according  to,  the  said  conspiracy,  combina 
tion,  confederacy  and  agreement,  amongst  themselves 
had  as  aforesaid,  did  erect,  and  cause  to  be  raised  and 
erected,  a  certain  flag  staff,  and  did  place  thereon  a  cer 
tain  flag,  as  the  standard  of  the  United  States  of 
America,  and  did  then  and  there  declare,  in  the  presence 
and  hearing  of  divers  liege  subjects  of  our  said  lord  the 
King,  that  the  said  place  on  which  the  same  flag  staff 
was  so  erected  was  a  part  of  the  territory  of  the  said 
United  States,  and  that  they,  the  said  liege  subjects, 
must  thereafter,  look  upon  themselves  as  subjects  of  the 
said  United  States. 

Second  overt  act.  And  the  jurors  aforesaid,  upon 
their  oath  aforesaid,  do  further  present,  that  the  said 
John  Baker,  James  Bacon,  and  Charles  Studson,  after 
wards,  to  wit,  on  the  15th  day  of  July  aforesaid,  in  the 
year  aforesaid,  at  the  parish  aforesaid,  in  the  county 
aforesaid,  in  further  pursuance  of,  and  according  to,  the 


[74] 

said  conspiracy,  combination,  confederacy  and  agreement, 
amongst  themselves  had  as  aforesaid,  applied  to  divers 
liege  subjects  of  our  said  lord  the  King,  and  then  and 
there  presented  to  the  same  subjects  a  paper  writing, 
which  they,  the  said  John  Baker,  James  Bacon,  and 
Charles  Studson,  then  and  there  requested  the  said  sub 
jects  to  sign,  then  and  there  declaring  that,  by  the  said 
paper,  they,  the  said  subjects  would  bind  themselves  to 
oppose  the  execution  of  the  laws  of  Great  Britain,  to 
wit,  in  the  Madawaska  settlement,  so  called. 

Third  overt  act.  And  the  jurors,  aforesaid,  upon 
their  oath  aforesaid,  do  further  present,  that  the  said 
John  Baker,  James  Bacon,  and  Charles  Studson,  after 
wards,  to  wit,  on  the  18th  day  of  July,  in  the  year 
aforesaid,  in  further  pursuance  of,  and  according  to,  the 
said  conspiracy,  combination,  confederacy  and  agree 
ment,  amongst  themselves  had  as  aforesaid,  did  oppose 
and  obstruct  the  postman  then  and  there  having  the 
custody  and  carriage  of  His  Majesty's  mail  to  the 
Province  of  Lower  Canada,  in  the  prosecution  of  his 
journey  with  the  said  mail;  they,  the  said  John  Baker, 
James  Bacon,  and  Charles  Studson,  declaring  to  the  said 
postman  that  the  British  Government  had  no  right  to 
send  its  mails  by  that  route,  meaning  through  that  part 
of  the  said  parish  of  Kent  called  the  Madawaska  settle 
ment;  and  that  they,  the  said  John  Baker,  James  Bacon, 
and  Charles  Studson,  had  received  orders  from  the  Gov 
ernment  of  the  said  United  States  to  stop  the  carriage 
of  the  said  mail  through  the  same. 

Fourth  overt  act.  And  the  jurors  aforesaid,  upon 
their  oath  aforesaid,  do  further  present,  that  the  said 
John  Baker,  James  Bacon,  and  Charles  Studson,  after 
wards,  to  wit,  on  the  tenth  day  of  August,  in  the  year 
aforesaid,  at  the  parish  aforesaid,  in  the  county  aforesaid, 
in  further  pursuance  of,  and  according  to,  the  said  con- 


[75] 

spiracy,  combination,  confederacy,  and  agreement, 
amongst  themselves  had  as  aforesaid,  did  hoist  the  flag 
of  the  said  United  States  of  America  on  a  certain  flag 
staff  there  erected  and  placed ;  they,  the  said  John  Baker, 
James  Bacon,  and  Charles  Studson,  then  and  there 
declaring,  in  the  presence  and  hearing  of  divers  subjects 
of  our  said  lord  the  King,  that  they,  the  said  John 
Baker,  James  Bacon,  and  Charles  Studson,  had  so  hoisted 
the  same  flag,  and  that  they  had  mutually  entered  into  a 
written  agreement  to  keep  the  same  flag  there,  and  that 
nothing  but  a  force  superior  to  their  own  should  take  it 
down ;  and  further,  that  they  considered,  and  had  a 
right  to  consider,  themselves  then  and  there  on  the  terri 
tory  of  the  said  United  States ;  and  that  they  had  bound 
themselves  to  resist  by  force  the  execution  of  the  laws  of 
Great  Britain  among  them  there;  in  very  great  con 
tempt  of  our  said  lord  the  King  and  his  laws,  to  the  evil 
example  of  all  others  in  the  like  case  offending,  and 
against  the  peace  of  our  said  lord  the  King,  his  crown 
and  dignity. 

The  Attorney  General,  who  conducted  the  prosecution, 
then  opened  the  case  to  the  jury,  and  stated  generally 
the  nature  of  the  offence,  and  the  facts  necessary  to  be 
proved  in  order  to  support  the  indictment:  he  then 
briefly  set  forth  the  evidence  which  he  intended  to  adduce 
to  substantiate  the  charge;  and  particularly  stated  it 
would  be  shown  that  the  jurisdiction  of  this  Province 
had  always  extended  over  the  part  of  this  country  where 
the  offence  was  committed:  that  the  defendants  were 
acting  under  no  authority  whatever;  and  this  was  an 
indictment  found  by  the  grand  jury  in  the  ordinary 
exercise  of  their  duties.  He  desired  the  jury  to  dismiss 
from  their  mind  every  thing  that  they  had  heard  or  seen 
written  on  this  case,  and  decide  on  the  guilt  or  innocence 
of  the  party  by  the  evidence  alone ;  and,  if  they  could 


[76] 

not  conscientiously  say  he  was  guilty,  to  acquit  him. 
Several  authorities  were  then  read ;  but  as  the  whole  case 
was  most  fully  and  ably  gone  into  by  the  learned  judge 
who  charged  the  jury,  and  the  same  view  of  the  law  and 
facts  taken  by  him  as  by  the  Attorney  General,  it  is  not 
necessary  to  go  into  a  full  detail  of  the  opening  speech. 

Mr.  Attorney  General  then  proceeded  to  call  the  wit 
nesses. 

William    Feirio,   one  of   the  witnesses    recognized  at 
the  last  term,  was  called  but  did  not  appear. 

George    Morehouse    was    the  first    witness  examined: 
his  evidence  was  as  follows : 

I  am  a  Justice  of  the  Peace  for  the  county  of  York, 
and  reside  in  the  parish  of  Kent,  on  the  river  St.  John, 
about  thirty  miles  below  the  Grand  Falls.  The  Mada- 
waska  settlers  commence  a  few  miles  above  the  Falls, 
and  extend  up  forty  to  fifty  miles.  I  have  been  settled 
where  I  now  live  six  years ;  but  my  acquaintance  with 
the  Madawaska  settlement  commenced  in  the  year  1819. 
At  this  time  the  inhabitants  were  principally  French; 
there  were  a  few  American  citizens.  I  cannot  say 
whether  defendant  was  there  then ;  his  brother  Nathan 
was.  I  do  not  recollect  the  defendant's  being  there 
until  September,  1822:  he  and  the  other  Americans  had 
formed  a  lumbering  establishment  at  the  head  of  the 
Madawaska  settlement,  on  the  east  side  of  the  river  St. 
John,  by  the  Meriumpticook  stream.  That  part  of  the 
country  where  the  French  and  Americans  were  has  been 
invariably  under  the  jurisdiction  and  laws  of  this  Province 
since  I  knew  it.  I  have  been  in  the  constant  habit,  as 
a  Magistrate,  of  sending  my  writs  and  warrants  there, 
and  no  interruption  or  objection  was  made  to  the  service 
of  them  until  last  August,  until  then,  it  was  my  belief 
that  all  the  inhabitants  there  considered  themselves 
under  the  jurisdiction  of,  and  subject  to,  the  laws  of 


[77] 

this  Province,   both  American  citizens  and  French  set 
tlers. 

When  I  speak  of  last  August,  I  mean  that  this  was 
the  first  intimation  I  had  of  any  objection  being  made 
to  the  exercise  of  the  jurisdiction  of  this  Province  there. 
That  intimation  was  made  by  a  report  or  communication 
from  Mr.  Rice,  that  John  Baker,  the  defendant,  had 
been  guilty  of  seditious  practices.  I  forwarded  the 
communication  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Province ;  a  few 
days  after,  about  the  third  of  August,  I  received  writ 
ten  instructions  from  His  Majesty's  Attorney  General  to 
proceed  to  Madawaska  and  take  depositions,  and  get  a 
copy  of  the  written  paper  which  it  was  reported  the 
defendants  had  handed  about  for  signature.  I  accord 
ingly  proceeded  to  Madawaska  on  the  seventh  of  August, 
and  arrived  at  the  place  where  Baker's  house  is  situate, 
and  went  into  the  house  of  James  Bacon,  and  asked  him 
to  let  me  see  the  paper  which  had  been  handed  about  for 
signature:  he  said  he  had  it  not.  I  then  requested 
Bacon  to  go  with  me  to  Baker's  to  look  for  the  paper; 
he  declined  going:  I  then  went  towards  Baker's  house, 
and  met  him  on  his  mill  dam.  The  mill  dam  is  made 
across  the  river  Meriumpticook.  I  stated  to  him  that 
it  had  been  reported  to  Government  that  he  and  other 
American  citizens  residing  there  had  been  guilty  of 
seditious  practices ;  that  I  was  authorized  to  make 
inquiry.  I  told  him  it  was  reported  that  he  had  drawn 
up,  and  circulated  among  the  settlers,  a  paper,  the 
purport  of  which  was  that  they  were  American  citizens, 
and  had  bound  themselves  to  resist  the  execution  of  the 
laws  of  Great  Britain :  he  neither  admitted  or  denied  it, 
but  said  that  he  had  been  charged  with  an  attempt  to 
stop  the  mail,  which  was  false.  I  requested  him  to  show 
me  the  paper  which  had  been  handed  round  for  signa 
ture:  he  said  he  believed  it  was  not  in  his  possession, 


[78] 

but  did  not  deny  the  existence  of  such  a  paper :  he  said 
he  did  not  know  whether  it  was  in  his  possession  or  not ; 
he  thought  Studson  had  it.  I  requested  him  to  go  to 
his  house  and  search  his  papers ;  perhaps  he  might  find 
it ;  we  proceeded  together  towards  his  house ;  between 
his  residence  and  the  mill,  there  is  a  new  house,  where 
ten  or  twelve  Americans  were  assembled.  I  did  not  know 
them  to  be  Americans :  but  supposed  them  to  be  so ;  they 
were  not  French  settlers :  when  we  got  there,  Baker  took 
two  or  three  aside,  and  consulted  with  them  a  few 
minutes;  he  then  came  back,  and  said  to  me,  "Mr. 
Morehouse,  I  have  consulted  with  the  committee,  and 
we  have  determined  that  you  shall  not  see  this  paper : 
we  have  formerly  shown  you  papers  in  similar  cases, 
which  has  been  very  prejudicial  to  us."  I  observed, 
when  I  went  there,  a  flag  staff  erected  on  the  point  of 
land  where  Baker  lives ;  the  point  is  formed  by  the 
junction  of  the  Meriumpticook  river  with  the  St.  John ; 
there  was  then  no  flag  on  it,  but  after  coming  out  of 
Bacon's,  I  observed  a  flag  hoisted — a  white  flag,  with  an 
American  eagle  and  semicircle  of  stars,  red.  In  the 
conversation  I  had  with  Bacon  he  deprecated  Baker's 
practices,  and  said  he  would  not  desist  until  he  brought 
the  Americans  there  into  trouble.  I  think  the  persons 
Baker  took  aside  to  consult  with,  were  Bartlett  and 
Savage.  After  I  had  received  the  answer  before  men 
tioned,  I  pointed  to  the  flag,  and  asked  Baker  what  that 
was.  He  said,  "the  American  flag,  Mr.  Morehouse: 
did  you  never  see  it  before,  if  not,  you  can  see  it  now. ' ' 
I  asked  him  who  planted  it  there :  he  said,  '  4he  and  the 
other  Americans  there."  Bacon  was  present  at  the 
time:  I  required  him  in  His  Majesty's  name  to  pull  it 
down.  He  replied,  "no,  I  will  not;  we  have  placed  it 
there,  and  we  are  determined  we  will  support  it,  and 
nothing  but  a  superior  force  to  ourselves  shall  take  it 


[79] 

down ;  we  are  on  American  territory ;  Great  Britain  has 
no  jurisdiction  here;  what  we  are  doing  we  will  be 
supported  in ;  we  have  a  right  to  be  protected,  and  will 
be  protected,  in  what  we  are  doing,  by  our  Govern 
ment." 

He  did  not  produce  or  exhibit  any  authority.  I  then 
turned  to  Bacon,  and  said,  "Bacon,  you  have  heard 
Baker's  declaration,  do  you  mean  to  support  him  in  it?" 
He  said,  "of  course  I  do. "  I  then  left  him  and  came 
away.  Baker,  about  the  1st  February,  1825,  applied 
to  me,  as  a  Magistrate,  for  summonses  against  some  of 
the  Madawaska  settlers  to  collect  debts.  I  gave  him 
six  summonses  against  persons  all  living  in  the  Mada 
waska  settlement :  the  return  made  to  me  was  that  the 
debts  were  paid  when  the  writs  were  served. 

Baker  has  a  considerable  improvement,  and  raises  more 
or  less  grain  every  year.  In  1823,  I  was  at  the  place 
where  he  resides.  I  understood  from  what  passed,  that 
Baker  and  Bacon  both  acknowledged  they  had  signed 
the  paper ;  they  spoke  of  having  bound  themselves  by  a 
written  agreement  to  resist  the  laws  of  England. 

The  direct  examination  having  closed,  the  defendant 
was  informed  he  might  cross-question  the  witness:  he 
declined  doing  it,  saying,  under  the  circumstances  which 
he  stood  there,  he  did  not  intend  asking  any  questions. 

To  questions  then  put  by  the  Court,  the  witness 
stated : 

The  Madawaska  settlement  proper  terminates  at  the 
Madawaska  river ;  above  the  river,  there  are  a  few  miles 
interval,  with  a  few  scattering  houses;  the  main  settle 
ment  then  commences  about  nine  miles  above  the  Mada 
waska,  and  extends  seven  or  eight  miles.  The  Meri- 
umpticook  is  about  eighteen  miles  above  the  Madawaska. 
This  settlement  has  formerly  gone  by  the  name  of  Chat- 
eaugay :  Lately  it  has  been  called  Sainte  Emilie  by  the 


[80] 

French  settlers  in  the  settlement.  I  mean  distinctly 
that  the  upper  as  well  as  the  lower  settlement  has  been 
subject  to  the  British  laws.  It  is  at  the  head  of  the 
settlement  the  Americans  reside.  The  whole  settlement 
has  gone  by  the  general  name  of  Madawaska  Settlement 
throughout  the  country;  the  name  Chateaugay  caused 
some  difference  amongst  themselves;  the  Priest  changed 
it  to  Sainte  Emilie ;  there  has  been  no  distinction  in  the 
actual  exercise  of  jurisdiction  between  the  upper  and 
lower  part  of  this  settlement ;  the  lower  bound  of  the 
parish  of  Kent  is  eighteen  miles  below  my  residence. 

Francis  Rice  sworn.  I  reside  in  the  Madawaska  settle 
ment,  at  the  head  or  the  first  part.  I  am  adjutant  of 
the  fourth  battalion  York  county  militia:  the  Mada 
waska  settlers  are  enrolled  in  this  battalion.  I  have 
been  in  court,  and  heard  Mr.  Morehouse's  evidence.  I 
made  a  report  to  him,  as  he  has  stated.  I  did  not  know 
the  facts  myself;  they  were  reported  to  me.  I  accom 
panied  Mr.  Morehouse  on  his  visit  to  the  settlement  on 
the  7th  August  last,  and  was  present  at  the  conversations 
with  Baker  and  Bacon :  the  facts  all  took  place  as  he  has 
stated:  I  can  say  nothing  more.  The  Madawaska  set 
tlers  attend  and  turn  out  at  the  militia  training  pretty 
regularly,  both  above  and  below  the  confluence  of  the 
Madawaska. 

The  French  settlers  not  being  able  to  speak  English 
distinctly,  the  witness,  Francis  Rice,  had  previously 
been  sworn  as  interpreter,  and  acted  as  such  throughout 
the  trial. 

Abraham  Chamberlain  sworn.  I  live  in  the  upper 
part  of  the  Madawaska  settlement,  above  the  Mada 
waska  river ;  have  resided  there  four  years  this  Summer ; 
was  born  at  Bay  Chaleur;  came  from  there  to  this 
Province  four  years  ago  and  have  always  lived  since  in 
the  Madawaska  settlement.  Charles  Studson  presented 


[81] 

me  a  paper,  I  think  in  July  last.  I  don't  remember 
seeing  Baker.  Bacon  and  Emery,  and  some  other 
Americans,  were  present.  I  was  passing  by ;  they  were 
drinking  rum;  they  asked  me  to  take  some;  I  agreed. 
When  they  handed  the  paper,  I  asked  whether  any  of 
the  French  had  signed  it;  they  said,  not  yet. 

The  witness  being  then  asked  as  to  the  contents  of  the 
paper,  and  the  propriety  of  such  evidence  being  ques 
tioned  by  the  court,  the  Attorney  General  cited  the 
case  of  Rex  versus  Hunt  and  others,  3  Barn,  and  Aid. 
566,  where  it  was  decided,  on  an  indictment  for  con 
spiracy,  that  secondary  evidence  of  the  contents  of  a 
paper  which  was  in  the  defendant's  possession  was 
admissible  without  producing  the  original,  or  giving 
notice  to  produce  it;  and  that  parole  evidence  of 
inscriptions  and  devices  on  banners  and  flags  is  also 
admissible.  The  question  was  then  put;  but  the  wit 
ness  could  say  nothing  as  to  the  contents,  stating  that 
it  was  read  to  him,  but,  being  in  English,  he  did  not 
understand  it.  They  asked  him  to  sign  it;  but  he  did 
not  understand  for  what  reason.  He  wanted  to  know 
whether  any  of  the  French  had  signed  it.  This  took 
place  at  the  point  of  land  near  the  mill.  There  was  a 
flag  hoisted  with  an  eagle  and  stars  on  it ;  they  did  not 
say  anything  about  having  signed  the  paper  themselves. 

Peter  Marque  sworn.  I  live  in  the  St.  Emilie  settle 
ment,  (the  upper  one.)  Bacon  and  Studson,  some  time 
last  Summer,  tried  to  make  me  sign  a  paper.  Studson 
handed  it  to  me;  I  do  not  know  for  what  reason:  they 
read  the  paper,  but  I  did  not  understand  it,  and  asked 
whether  the  French  had  signed  it :  they  said,  not  yet.  I 
then  said  I  would  not  sign  it.  I  told  Mr.  Morehouse 
they  wanted  me  to  sign  a  paper.  This  was  at  the  place 
where  the  pole  stands.  I  never  understood  the  purpose 
for  which  I  was  called  to  sign  the  paper.  I  worked 


[82] 

eleven  days  for  Baker  last  year,  at  the  time  of  getting 
hay :  I  now  work  for  myself.  They  told  me  Chamber 
lain  had  signed  the  paper.  I  dont  remember  anything 
more. 

Peter  Sileste  sworn.  I  was  employed  last  Summer  to 
carry  the  mail  from  Madawaska  to  Lake  Timisconatee : 
as  I  was  taking  it  up  the  river,  polling  up  in  a  canoe,  I 
met  John  Baker  coming  down  bhe  river  on  a  raft;  he 
came  off  to  me  in  a  small  skiff;  neither  of  us  stopped. 
Baker  asked  me  in  English,  "Do  you  carry  the  mail?" 
I  said  "Yes."  He  said  he  had  orders  from  America 
not  to  let  the  mail  pass  that  way.  I  replied,  I  had  no 
orders  to  stop  there.  This  was  all  that  passed.  This 
was,  I  think,  in  July. 

Joseph  Sanfason  sworn.  I  live  in  the  Madawaska 
settlement,  half  a  mile  below  the  Green  river :  the  Green 
river  is  below  the  Madawaska.  I  was  born  at  Mada 
waska.  I  bought  land  from  J.  Souci :  he  had  a  grant 
from  the  government  of  this  Province.  I  bought  it 
six  years  ago.  I  have  been  a  constable  for  two  years 
for  the  parish  of  Kent.  I  was  obstructed  in  my  duty 
of  constable  by  Baker,  Bacon,  Bartlett,  Savage,  Shelly, 
and  Jones.  I  had  an  execution  from  Mr.  Morehouse 
against  J.  Bacon.  I  asked  Bacon  if  he  would  come? 
He  said  he  would  not  leave  the  place.  Baker  said,  it 
is  of  no  use  for  you  to  go  there;  you  shall  not  have 
the  man.  Bacon  talked  about  settling  it.  Baker  said, 
Bacon  you  must  not  settle  it  now;  you  must  settle  it 
another  time;  I  will  not  allow  any  officer  to  go  up 
there.  He  asked  me  if  I  had  any  authority  to  go 
there.  I  showed  him  the  warrant:  he  said,  if  it  came 
from  the  States  he  would  mind  it ;  but  it  was  only  from 
Mr.  Morehouse,  and  he  would  not  mind  it.  They  pre 
vented  my  taking  Bacon,  who  refused  to  go.  This 
took  place  near  Baker's  mill. 


[83] 

Edward  William  Miller,  Esq.,  sworn.  I  am  high 
sheriff  of  the  county  of  York,  and  have  been  so  since 
1814.  I  have  been  acquainted  with  the  Madawaska 
settlement  seven  years.  I  never  could  make  any  division 
in  the  settlement  between  the  upper  and  the  lower. 
When  I  first  knew  it,  it  extended  to  seven  miles  from 
the  Falls;  lately,  it  has  come  within  three  or  four  miles. 
I  know  the  Meriumpticook  river.  I  have  been  in  the 
habit  of  serving  writs  throughout  the  whole  of  the 
settlement,  the  same  as  in  any  other  part  of  my  baili 
wick.  When  I  first  became  acquainted  with  the  settle 
ment,  I  considered  the  inhabitants  under  the  jurisdic 
tion  and  government  of  this  Province,  without  any  dis 
pute  whatever.  The  distance  is  so  great,  I  have  never 
summoned  them  as  jurors:  it  would  be  so  inconvenient 
to  attend :  the  inhabitants  serve  in  the  militia.  I  never 
met  with  any  obstruction  in  the  discharge  of  my  duty. 

Peter  Fraser,  Esq.,  sworn.  I  have  been  an  inhabit 
ant  of  this  Province  since  1784:  am  acquainted  with  the 
Madawaska  settlement.  It  is  about  seven  or  eight  years 
since  I  was  first  there ;  but  I  have  been  acquainted  with 
the  settlers  since  1787.  I  considered  them  always  under 
the  government  of  this  Province.  The  first  settler  I 
knew  was  Capt.  Duperree,  a  captain  of  the  militia  of 
this  Province:  the  date  of  his  commission  was  between 
1787  and  1790.  He  resided  in  the  settlement.  The 
settlers  have  voted  at  elections:  there  was  some  difficulty 
at  first  in  their  doing  so,  on  account  of  the  oath  which 
was  required  to  be  taken,  as  they  were  Catholics;  but 
when  this  was  altered,  they  have  voted  without  diffi 
culty.  To  my  own  knowledge,  they  voted  in  1809, 
and  ever  since.  I  consider  the  Madawaska  settlement  as 
extending  from  the  Great  Falls  to  the  Canada  line.  I 
have  been  where  Baker  lives ;  and  always  deemed  the 
part  above  the  Madawaska  river  as  in  the  Madawaska 


[84] 

settlement.  There  is  no  distinction,  in  this  respect, 
between  what  is  above  and  below  that  river.  The 
Madawaska  settlers  are  enrolled  in  the  militia  of  this 
Province;  in  Captain  Duperree's  time,  there  were  two 
companies.  In  1824,  they  were  formed  into  a  separate 
battalion,  consisting  of  five  companies:  I  am  major  of 
the  battalion.  They  turn  out  very  regularly.  I  never 
heard  of  their  making  any  objections  to  training. 

Henry  Clopper  sworn.  I  am  clerk  of  the  peace  and 
register  of  deeds  for  this  county.  I  was  appointed 
clerk  in  1823,  and  register  in  1821.  I  succeeded  my 
father  in  both  offices.  I  have  discharged  the  duties 
since  1820,  having  acted  for  him  before  receiving  the 
appointment  myself.  Parish  officers  were  appointed  by 
the  sessions  for  the  parish  of  Kent.  There  was  a  separ 
ate  list  for  the  Madawaska  district,  in  that  parish.  I 
have  been  as  far  up  the  river  as  ten  miles  above  the 
Grand  Falls.  There  are  a  great  many  deeds  registered 
in  my  office  of  land  in  Madawaska,  where  the  parties  are 
the  Madawaska  settlers,  some  as  long  since  as  twenty- 
five  or  thirty  years  back.  As  clerk  of  the  peace,  I 
receive  the  money  given  as  bounty  for  grain  raised  on 
new  ground  in  this  county.  In  May,  1825,  the  defend 
ant,  John  Baker,  applied  to  me  for  the  bounty  for  grain 
raised  by  him  on  new  land.  He  received  the  bounty 
from  me.  The  paper  now  produced  by  me  is  the  docu 
ment  under  which  he  became  entitled  to  it.  I  observed 
to  him  that  he  was  an  alien,  and  I  was  not  aware  whether 
he  was  strictly  entitled  to  it.  He  said  his  certificate  had 
passed  the  session.  The  paper  I  now  hold  is  the  certifi 
cate,  and  the  only  one ;  it  has  been  on  file  in  my  office 
since. 

The  paper  was  here  put  in,  and  read  by  the   clerk  of 
the  Crown,  and  is  as  follows : 

"I,    John    Baker,    of    Kent,    do    swear   that    ninety 


[85] 

bushels  of  wheat  were  really  and  truly  raised  on  the  land 
occupied  by  me,  and  are  actually  of  the  crop  of  the  year 
1823,  (1822)  and  that  the  wood  was  cut  down,  burnt, 
or  cleared  off  from  the  land  on  which  the  same  was 
raised  within  two  years  previous  to  the  time  that  the 
said  crop  was  taken  off,  and  that  they  were  of  the  first 
and  only  crop  of  grain  raised  on  land  from  which  the 
said  wood  was  so  cut  down,  burnt,  or  cleared  off,  as 
aforesaid. 

"John  Baker. 

"Sworn    before    me,    at    Woodstock,  the   2d   of    July, 
1825,  (1823.) 

'  'John  Bedell ,  Justice  of  the  Peace. 

"I  verily  believe  the  facts  above  stated   to  be  just  and 
true. 

"John  Bedell." 

I  paid  him  by  a  check  on  Mr.  Needham ;  the  amount 
was  £4  5s  3d;  this  is  the  order  I  gave  Mr.  Needham. 

Cross-examined  by  defendant.  Have  you  got  the 
receipt  I  gave  for  the  money?  The  witness  here  pro 
duced  the  schedule  and  signature  to  it  by  Baker,  and 
said  this  is  the  only  receipt  he  gave  me,  except  the  one 
given  to  Mr.  Needham. 

Mark  Needham  sworn.  I  remember  the  circumstance 
of  paying  this  order;  the  words  "received  payment"  on 
it  are  in  my  writing.  I  have  no  doubt  I  paid  it,  but 
have  not  now  any  particular  recollection  of  the  defendant. 
I  considered  it  paid,  and  charged  Mr.  Clopper  with  it. 

George  I.  Dibblee  sworn.  I  am  acquainted  with  the 
hand- writing  of  the  defendant,  John  Baker — have  seen 
him  write ;  the  signature  to  the  receipt  on  the  order  is  his 
hand- writing ;  I  have  no  doubt  of  it. 

Simon  Abear,  or  Hibert,  sworn.  I  live  two  miles 
below  Madawaska  river;  have  lived  there  four  (forty) 
years  next  month;  I  moved  there  from  the  French  vil- 


[86] 

lage  about  ten  miles  above  Frederickton.  I  have  a  grant 
of  my  land  from  this  Province ;  it  is  the  first  grant  in 
the  Madawaska,  and  was  made  about  two  or  three  years 
after  I  moved  up.  I  live  under  this  government,  and 
have  always  lived  under  it ;  all  the  Madawaska  settlers 
live  under  the  same  Government.  I  vote  at  elections ; 
the  first  time  was  about  eight  years  ago.  Baker  came 
last  year  to  my  house ;  he  asked  me  what  time  I  go  to 
train  my  company ;  I  am  a  captain  of  militia ;  he  said 
there  is  not  much  occasion  to  train  at  Madawaska.  I 
inquired  the  reason;  he  said  nothing;  I  told  him  I 
would  go  next  Saturday — he  must  be  stronger  than  me 
to  prevent  me.  I  know  where  Baker  lives ;  he  came  five 
or  six  years  ago ;  he  has  always  lived  at  the  same  place — 
raised  grain  there;  I  believe  he  cultivated  no  where  else. 
Baker  said  I  had  better  not  train  but  did  (not)  ask  me 
not  to  train. 

George  West  sworn.  I  know  the  defendant,  Baker; 
have  known  him  since  1820;  he  was  then  settled  at  the 
Bay  Chaleur;  I  saw  him  next  at  the  Madawaska;  this 
was  when  Judge  Bliss  was  President,  I  believe  1824.  I 
seized  300  logs  from  him ;  I  was  then  a  seizing  officer ; 
he  said  he  wished  to  become  a  British  subject,  as  he  had 
been  here  the  necessary  time;  he  inquired  of  me  what 
steps  it  would  be  necessary  for  him  to  take;  I  told  him 
as  far  as  my  information  went ;  this  was  at  the  place 
where  he  lives;  it  is  called  Baker's  mill  stream;  he  spoke 
as  if  he  considered  himself  a  resident  within  this  Prov 
ince,  and  wished  to  have  all  the  lenity  shown  him  on 
that  account ;  it  was  shown  him ;  he  was  allowed  to 
redeem  the  loss  at  the  rate  of  2s  6d  per  thousand  feet, 
counting  three  logs  to  a  thousand.  The  logs  were  seized 
as  cut  on  Crown  lands  without  license.  I  have  seen  him 
since ;  there  was  a  warrant  of  survey  sent  to  me  to  execute 
of  this  land  where  Baker  resides;  it  was  in  Samuel 


[87] 

Nevers'  name;  Baker  himself  attended  the  execution  of 
the  warrant,  and  directed  the  course  of  the  lines ;  the 
privilege  was  considered  Baker's,  but  taken  in  Nevers' 
name,  as  Baker  was  not  a  British  subject:  I  think  this 
was  about  two  years  ago. 

The  evidence  on  the  part  of  the  prosecution  having 
here  closed,  the  defendant  was  called  upon  for  his  defence ; 
he  addressed  the  court  nearly  as  follows : 

"I  am  a  citizen  of  the  United  States,  and  owe  alleg 
iance  to  that  country.  I  have  lately  received  my  deed 
from  the  States  of  Maine  and  Massachusetts.  I  hold 
myself  bound  to  their  Courts.  I  live  in  American  terri 
tory,  and  hold  myself  only  liable  to  the  courts  of  that 
place,  being  the  county  of  Penobscot,  in  the  State  of 
Maine.  I  enter  no  defence,  and  call  no  evidence.  I  do 
decline  the  j  urisdiction  of  this  court. ' ' 

The  defendant  alluded  to  a  letter  he  had,  in  the 
course  of  the  trial,  handed  to  the  Chief  Justice ;  which 
was  delivered  to  him,  and  he  was  informed  he  might,  if 
he  chose,  read  it  as  part  of  his  defense,  but  declined 
doing  so. 

The  Attorney  General  then  addressed  the  Court,  and 
said,  that,  as  he  had,  in  his  opening,  stated  generally 
the  nature  of  the  case  and  evidence,  and  the  defendant 
had  not  made  any  defence,  he  did  not  think  it  necessary, 
after  so  much  time  had  been  taken  up  and  the  evidence 
so  fully  gone  into,  to  address  the  jury,  but  would  merely 
read  two  or  three  additional  authorities,  (which  he  did, 
from  Starkie's  Evidence,  Compyn's  Digest,  Blackstone's 
Commentaries,  and  Archbold's  Criminal  Pleading,)  and 
then  leave  the  case  in  the  hands  of  the  Court. 

Mr.  Justice  Chipman  charged  the  Jury.  He  began 
by  stating  the  indictment  and  plea,  the  general  nature 
of  the  offence,  and  the  proofs  requisite  to  support  the 
charge.  He  said  that  the  body  of  the  offence  was  the 


[88] 

conspiracy,  and  combining  and  confederating  together 
with  the  intent  laid  in  the  indictment.  In  the  present 
case,  the  intent  charged  was  to  bring  into  contempt  the 
King's  authority,  to  spread  false  opinions  among  his 
subjects  as  to  his  power  and  prerogative  over  them,  and 
in  fact  completely  to  unsettle  their  minds  as  to  their 
allegiance  to  the  Government  under  which  they  lived. 
This  mind  and  intention  must  be  made  manifest  by  overt 
acts.  It  was  usual,  though  held  not  to  be  absolutely 
necessary,  to  set  forth  overt  acts  in  the  indictment; 
but  if,  from  the  facts  proved  in  evidence,  the  jury 
should  be  satisfied  that  the  defendant,  Baker,  now  on 
trial,  did  combine  and  confederate  with  one  or  both  of 
the  other  defendants  named  in  the  indictment  with  the 
intent  imputed  to  them,  that  would  be  sufficient  to 
make  up  the  offence.  As  the  essence  of  the  crime  was 
the  combining,  two  persons  at  least  must  be  engaged  in 
it.  The  Judge  then  stated  that  before  going  into  a 
consideration  of  the  evidence,  he  would  dispose  of  the 
ground  which  the  defendant  had  set  up  when  called 
upon  his  defence :  which  was,  that  the  place  where  the 
acts  were  committed  was  in  the  territory  of  the  United 
States,  and  that  he,  the  defendant,  was  not  amenable 
to  the  laws,  or  subject  to  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Courts 
of  this  Province.  The  Judge  then  stated  that  the 
question  as  to  the  national  rights  to  this  territory,  now 
well  known  to  be  in  controversy,  is  one  which  this  Court 
is  utterly  incompetent  to  enter  into,  and  can  have 
nothing  to  do  with.  It  is  a  matter  of  state,  to  be 
settled  between  the  two  nations,  Great  Britain  and  the 
United  States ;  to  be  dealt  with  by  the  Governments  of 
the  two  countries,  and  not  by  this  Court.  The  Court 
will  only  inquire  whether  the  place  in  question  is 
actually  in  the  possession  and  under  the  jurisdiction,  and 
laws  of  this  Province ;  and  if  so,  the  Court  will  maintain 


[89] 

that  jurisdiction,  and  continue  the  exercise  and  protec 
tion  of  those  laws,  until  some  act  of  the  King's  Govern 
ment  shall  effect  a  change.  There  can  be  no  stronger 
evidence  of  the  possession  of  a  country  than  the  free  and 
uncontrolled  exercise  of  jurisdiction  within  it;  and  the 
Court  is  bound  by  its  allegiance  to  the  Crown,  and  its 
duty  to  the  King's  subjects,  to  act  upon  this,  which  it 
considers  as  the  only  principle  truly  applicable  to  the 
case.  This  principle  has  already  been  acted  upon  in  this 
Province. 

The  learned  Judge  then  referred  to  the  case  of  the 
sloop  Falmouth,  adjudged  in  the  Court  of  Vice  Admir 
alty  of  this  Province  many  years  ago,  (1806.)  He 
stated  this  to  have  been  the  case  of  a  seizure  by  a  British 
officer  of  an  American  vessel  lying  in  the  waters  of 
Passamaquoddy  Bay,  for  landing  her  cargo  within  this 
Province;  no  foreign  vessels  being  at  that  time  admis 
sible  into  the  ports  of  these  colonies.  The  counsel  for 
the  prosecution  in  that  case  went  at  large  into  the  ques 
tion  of  right  to  all  the  islands  in  that  bay,  under  the 
provisions  of  the  treaty  of  1783,  and  contended  that,  by 
virtue  of  that  treaty,  all  the  islands,  including  Moose, 
Dudley,  and  Frederick  Islands,  then  in  the  actual  pos 
session  of  the  United  States,  of  right  belonged  to  Great 
Britain;  and  that  no  foreign  vessel  could  lawfully  lade 
(land)  a  cargo  in  any  part  of  that  bay ;  but  the  learned 
judge  of  that  Court  at  that  time,  now  one  of  the  Judges 
of  this  Court,  (Mr.  Justice  Botsford,)  in  pronouncing 
judgment,  would  not  enter  upon  the  question  of  right 
to  the  islands,  which  he  considered  a  matter  of  state  for 
the  two  Governments  to  decide  upon;  but  finding  the 
three  islands  beforenamed  to  be  under  the  actual  pos 
session  and  jurisdiction  of  the  United  States,  he  applied 
the  principle  of  the  law  of  nations  applicable  to  a  water 
boundary  between  two  different  countries,  and  directed 


[90] 

his  attention  solely  to  the  point  whether  the  vessel 
laded  her  cargo  on  the  British  side  of  a  middle  line  drawn 
between  these  islands  then  in  the  possession  of  the 
United  States,  and  the  British  islands  opposite.  It 
thus  appears  that  this  doctrine  of  taking  the  actual 
state  of  things  as  we  find  them,  and  applying  the  law 
accordingly,  has  been  already  acted  upon  in  this  Prov 
ince,  in  an  instance  where  it  was  favorable  to  citizens 
of  the  United  States ;  and  this  Court  has  no  hesitation 
in  applying  the  same  doctrine,  which  it  considers  as 
the  true  doctrine,  to  the  present  case.  It  is  to  be 
observed  that  the  defendant  in  the  present  case  has 
given  no  evidence  whatever  of  the  place  in  question 
being  in  the  possession  or  under  the  jurisdiction  of 
the  United  States;  that  he  does  not  appear  to  be  in 
any  respect  an  agent  of  that  Government,  or  acting 
under  its  authority ;  and  that  what  has  been  done  must 
be  considered  as  being  altogether  the  acts  of  unauthor 
ized  individuals.  The  place  where  the  transaction 
occurred  goes  by  the  general  name  of  the  Madawaska 
settlement;  and  if  this  settlement  shall  appear  to  be, 
in  point  of  fact,  under  the  jurisdiction  of  this  Province, 
the  case  must  receive  the  same  consideration,  and  the 
conduct  of  the  defendant  be  viewed  in  the  same  light,  as 
if  the  acts  complained  of  had  been  committed  in  any 
other  part  of  the  Province,  one  hundred  miles  further 
down  on  the  river  St.  John,  or  even  in  this  town  of 
Frederickton. 

The  learned  Judge  then  proceeded  to  read  over  the 
whole  of  the  testimony  from  his  notes,  commenting  upon 
the  several  parts  of  it  as  he  went  on.  He  considered  the 
overt  acts  as  to  hoisting  of  the  flag  of  the  United 
States  with  the  express  intention  of  subverting  British 
authority,  as  most  distinctly  and  fully  proved  and  asked 
what  more  unequivocal  indication  there  could  be  of  an 


[91] 

intention  to  bring  the  King's  Government  into  con 
tempt,  and  of  unsettling  the  administration  of  the  laws 
of  the  Province,  than  the  erecting  of  a  foreign  standard 
with  this  declared  purpose.  With  respect  to  the  trans 
action  with  the  postman  he  directed  the  jury  that  if 
they  considered  the  acts  of  the  defendant  in  this  instance 
to  have  proceeded  from  the  combination  and  confederacy 
to  subvert  the  King's  authority,  the  defendant  was 
properly  chargeable  with  them  under  this  indictment; 
and  that,  in  forming  their  judgment  of  this  and  all  the 
other  facts  detailed  in  evidence,  they  should  take  into 
view  all  the  circumstances  of  time  and  place,  and  of 
action,  in  determining  the  character  of  the  several 
transactions.  With  respect  to  the  written  agreement, 
by  which  they  bound  themselves  to  resist  the  British 
laws,,  he  thought  that  was  sufficiently  proved  with 
regard  to  the  American  citizens;  but  it  was  not  made 
out  in  proof  that  this  was  the  same  paper  which  was 
handed  to  the  French  settlers;  but  the  learned  Judge 
said  that  he  could  not  admit  of  any  distinction  in  this 
respect  between  aliens  being  under  the  jurisdiction  and 
protection  of  the  British  laws  and  natural  born  subjects; 
the  former  owed  a  local  allegiance ;  and  what  would  be  a 
breach  of  the  laws  by  the  one,  would  be  so  by  the  other, 
The  learned  Judge,  in  closing,  stated,  that  if,  in 
determining  the  present  case,  this  court  was  to  under 
take  to  enter  upon  a  question  of  a  conflict  of  rights 
between  the  two  nations,  it  might  be  disposed  to 
approach  it  with  a  degree  of  trepidation :  but  this  case 
was  altogether  unembarrassed  by  any  such  considerations. 
It  presented  a  chain  of  evidence  of  clear  possession  and 
undisturbed  jurisdiction  on  the  part  of  this  Province 
from  the  period  of  its  first  erection  down  to  the  present 
time — a  space  of  more  than  forty  years.  One  of  the 
oldest  inhabitants  in  the  Madawaska  settlement  had 


[92] 

proved  that  he  removed  thither  from  the  lower  part  of 
this  Province  forty  years  ago ;  that  he,  and  all  the  set 
tlers  there,  always  considered  themselves  as  living  under 
this  Government.  It  is  also  proved  that  these  inhabi 
tants  have  received  grants  of  land  from  this  Govern 
ment,  and  have,  from  the  beginning,  been  enrolled  in 
the  militia;  that  they  have  voted  at  elections  for  the 
county  of  York;  have  applied  to  the  Provincial  courts 
for  redress  in  all  suits  at  law ;  and  have  uniformly  exer 
cised  all  the  privileges,  and  been  subject  to  all  the  duties, 
of  other  inhabitants  of  the  Province;  excepting  only 
that  the  sheriff  states  that  he  has  not  summoned  them 
to  attend  on  juries  at  Frederickton  by  reason  of  their 
great  distance ;  but  he  expressly  declared  that  he  has 
always  been  in  the  habit  of  serving  writs  throughout 
the  whole  of  that  settlement,  as  much  as  in  any  other 
part  of  his  bailiwick.  It  appears  also  that  the  defend 
ant,  Baker,  considered  himself  as  living  within  the  terri 
tory,  and  under  the  jurisdiction  of  this  Province;  that 
he  applied  to  Mr.  Morehouse,  the  Provincial  magistrate 
for  processes  to  recover  his  debts  from  inhabitants  in  the 
Madawaska  settlement ;  that  he  received  the  Provincial 
bounty  for  grain  raised  on  land,  which  there  can  be  no 
question  is  the  land  on  which  he  now  resides,  and  this  on 
his  own  affidavit,  stating  himself  to  be  John  Baker,  of 
the  parish  of  Kent.  It  further  appears  that  he  attended 
a  Provincial  Surveyor  in  laying  out  this  very  land,  for 
which  a  warrant  of  survey,  under  the  authority  of  the 
Province,  was  in  a  course  of  execution,  giving  directions 
as  to  the  course  of  the  lines ;  the  grant  being  intended 
for  the  benefit  of  Baker,  although  it  was  to  be  taken 
out  in  the  name  of  Nevers,  a  British  subject.  Baker 
himself,  also,  had  an  intention  of  being  naturalized,  and 
stated  to  one  of  the  witnesses,  Mr.  George  West,  that 
he  had  resided  the  necessary  time,  and  wished  to  know 


[93] 

what  other  steps  were  necessary  for  this  purpose.  This 
conversation  taking  place  on  the  spot  where  he  lived,  at 
the  head  of  the  Madawaska  settlement,  and  at  a  time 
when  logs  cut  by  him  had  been  seized  as  being  cut  on 
crown  lands  without  license;  and  Baker  claimed  to  be 
dealt  favorably  with  by  reason  of  his  residence  within 
the  Province,  and  his  intention  to  become  naturalized. 
The  learned  Judge  also  stated  that  it  appeared  from  the 
evidence  that  there  was  no  line  of  division  to  be  drawn 
between  any  parts  of  that  whole  settlement,  as  to  the 
possession  and  exercise  of  jurisdiction  by  this  Province; 
that  he  could  not  imagine  any  principle  upon  which  any 
such  line  of  division  could  be  made;  that  one  of  the 
witnesses  spoke  of  the  settlement  having,  when  he  first 
knew  it,  commenced  seven  miles  above  the  Great  Falls ; 
that  it  has  since  extended  downwards  to  within  two  or 
three  miles  of  the  Falls.  It  has  also  been  gradually 
extending  upwards,  and  all  the  inhabitants,  in  every  part 
of  it,  were  equally  under  the  jurisdiction  of  this  Prov 
ince,  and  entitled  to  the  benefit  and  protection  of  its 
laws ;  and  if  they  were  to  be  transferred  from  this  juris 
diction  and  protection,  it  must  be  by  some  act  of  the 
King's  Government,  competent  for  that  purpose. 

The  learned  Judge,  with  these  observations,  left  the 
case  to  the  Jury,  directing  them  to  consider  it  in  the 
same  light,  and  to  give  the  defendant  the  benefit  of  the 
same  considerations,  that  they  would  in  the  case  of  any 
other  inhabitants  of  the  Province. 

The  jury  retired  from  the  box,  and,  after  about  an 
hour's  deliberation,  returned  into  court  with  a  verdict  of 
guilty. 

The  defendant  was  then  required  to  enter  into  recog 
nizance  to  appear  on  Monday  next  to  receive  the  sentence 
of  the  court.  The  same  bail  were  accepted  as  before,  in 
the  same  amount. 


[94] 

The  Attorney  General  stated  to  the  court  that  he 
should  enter  a  noli  prosequi  on  the  ex-officio  information 
which  had  been  filed  against  the  defendant;  and  also  on 
the  indictment  which  had  been  found  against  John  Baker 
and  six  others  for  a  riot,  so  far  as  regarded  the  present 
defendant. 

The  witnesses  were  informed  that  their  further  attend 
ance  would  not  be  required. 

Monday,  May  12,  1828. 

Present:  His  Honor  the  Chief  Justice,  Judge  Bliss, 
and  Judge  Chipman. 

The  defendant  being  called,  and  appearing,  the  Attor 
ney  General  proceeded  to  make  several  observations  on 
the  case,  and  concluded  by  moving  the  judgment  of  the 
court. 

His  Honor,  Mr.  Justice  Bliss,  then  inquired  of  the 
defendant  if  he  had  anything  to  say  in  mitigation,  or 
any  affidavits  to  produce. 

The  defendant  said  he  had  little  to  say.  He  was 
brought  there,  and  made  amenable  to  the  jurisdiction  of 
the  court,  and  must  of  course  submit.  He  had  no  affi 
davits  to  produce:  there  were  some  facts,  which,  if  they 
had  been  brought  forward,  might  have  been  material; 
but  as  he  was  not  prepared  with  the  whole,  he  had 
thought  it  better  not  to  adduce  any  proof.  He  con 
cluded  by  submitting  himself  to  the  consideration  of  the 
court. 

Mr.  Justice  Bliss  then  proceeded  to  pass  sentence  to 
the  following  effect : 

That  the  defendant  had  been  indicted  by  the  grand 
jury  of  the  county  of  York  for  a  seditious  conspiracy, 
entered  into  by  him  and  others,  within  the  jurisdiction 
of  this  court,  to  which  he  had  pleaded  not  guilty,  alleg 
ing,  at  the  same  time,  that  he  did  not  consider  himself 


[95] 

amenable  to  the  process  of  this  court,  being  a  citizen  of 
the  United  States,  and  that  the  offence  charged  was 
committed  within  their  territory ;  but  the  court  could 
not  admit  this  to  be  the  case,  it  appearing  clearly  that 
the  Madawaska  settlement  where  the  offence  was  com 
mitted,  has  been,  from  the  first  erection  of  the  Province, 
hitherto  under  our  laws,  and  subject  to  our  jurisdiction; 
and  that  the  defendant,  after  a  very  fair  and  full  investi 
gation  of  the  case,  had  been  convicted  by  a  jury  of  the 
country ;  and  it  now  remains  for  the  court  to  pass  their 
sentence  upon  him  for  this  offence ;  in  doing  which  their 
object  was  to  treat  him  with  that  lenity  which,  so  far  as 
was  consistent  with  the  end  of  justice,  is  uniformly 
extended  to  His  Majesty's  natural  born  subjects;  and, 
although  the  court  considered  the  offence  of  which  he 
had  been  found  guilty  of  a  very  aggravated  nature,  they 
have  had  regard  to  his  previous  long  imprisonment ;  and 
their  object  being  to  secure  the  future  peace  of  the 
country,  and  not  to  pass  a  vindictive  sentence  personally 
against  him,  they  had  awarded  the  punishment  accord 
ingly ;  and  did  sentence  him  to  be  imprisoned  in  the 
common  gaol  of  the  county  of  York  for  the  term  of  two 
calendar  months,  and  to  pay  a  fine  to  our  lord  the  King 
of  twenty  five  pounds,  and  remain  committed  until  the 
same  was  paid. 

The  defendant  John  Baker  was  then  taken  into  custody 
by  the  Sheriff. 

DEFENCE  OF  THE  FRONTIER  OF  MAINE. 

A  communication  in  relation  to  this  subject  has  been 
made  by  the  Secretary  of  War,  in  compliance  with  a 
resolution,  to  the  U.  S.  Senate.  It  contains  a  variety 
of  documents,  and  among  them  the  reports  of  Gen. 
Wool  and  Major  Graham,  of  a  reconnoissance  of  our 


[96] 

Frontier  made  by  them  the  past  summer.  This  recon- 
noissance  was  made  in  obedience  to  instructions  from  the 
War  Department,  given  in  consequence  of  the  repre 
sentations  to  the  department  by  Gov.  Kent,  and  the 
earnest  solicitations  made  by  him  of  the  importance  of 
such  a  movement,  and  the  necessity  of  having  our 
frontier  better  fortified.  We  shall  give  such  portions 
of  these  reports  as  will  be  of  interest  to  our  readers, 
commencing  with  Gen.  Wool's. 


From  the  Report  of  Brigadier  General  John  E.  Wool  to 

the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury. 
Head 


Quarters,  Troy,   N.  Y.          ) 
October  30,  1838.  J 


Sir: 

Herewith,  I  have  the  honor  to  transmit  a  report  of 
the  military  reconnoissance  of  the  frontier  of  Maine, 
made  during  the  summer  past,  in  obedience  to  instruc 
tions  received  from  the  War  Department,  dated  the  12th 
May  and  16th  of  June  last. 

Agreeably  to  your  verbal  instructions  communicated 
at  Washington,  I  repaired  to  Augusta,  (Maine.)  and 
conferred  with  his  Excellency  Edward  Kent,  on  the  sub 
ject  of  the  reconnoissance  required.  He  not  only 
appeared  much  pleased  with  the  object,  but  offered  every 
assistance  in  his  power  to  aid  in  its  prosecution.  I 
remained  at  Augusta  until  I  was  joined,  the  28th  June, 
by  Major  Graham  and  Lieutenant  Johnson,  of  the  topo 
graphical  engineers.  On  the  29th  of  June,  we  pro 
ceeded  to  Bangor,  where  I  was  delayed  until  the  3d  of 
July,  in  consequence  of  some  preparations  on  the  part 
of  Major  Graham,  before  he  could  commence  his  topo 
graphical  sketches  or  surveys.  The  Major  having  com 
pleted  his  arrangements,  we  set  out  on  the  3d  of  July 


[97] 

for  the  examination  of  the  northwestern  frontier  of  the 
State,  confining  ourselves  within  the  undisputed  limits, 
as  prescribed  by  your  instructions  of  the  16th  June. 

After  exploring  Moosehead  lake,  Moose  River,  and 
the  country  west  of  Moosehead  lake  as  far  as  the  high 
lands  which  divide  the  State  of  Maine  from  Lower 
Canada,  I  selected  a  position  for  the  establishment  of  a 
military  post  for  the  protection  and  defense  of  the 
northwestern  frontier  of  the  State,  on  the  height  about 
one  mile  north  of  Moose  river,  fourteen  miles  south  of 
the  line,  on  the  road  called  the  Canada  road,  leading  to 
Quebec.  This  position  is  a  commanding  one,  and  would 
be  highly  important  if  by  any  circumstance  England 
should  be  induced  to  invade  Maine,  from  the  direction  of 
Quebec  or  Lower  Canada.  It  is  situated  on  the  only 
route  by  which  a  military  force  would  attempt  to  pene 
trate  the  country  from  Lower  Canada.  Any  other  route 
would  be  attended  with  almost  insurmountable  difficulties, 
and  could  not  fail  to  retard  the  advance  of  any  army. 
On  either  side  of  the  Canada  road,  for  nearly  or  quite 
forty  miles  south  of  the  line,  the  country  is  unsettled 
and  covered  with  a  dense  forest,  through  which  roads 
must  be  cut  and  made,  streams  bridged,  and  boats  built, 
and  where  neither  forage,  provisions  or  any  other  sup 
plies  could  be  obtained.  If  England,  however,  should 
make  war  upon  the  United  States  in  order  to  secure  the 
possession  of  the  disputed  territory  in  question,  she 
would  not  waste  her  resources  by  contending  for  it  in  the 
wilds  or  dense  forests  of  Maine.  Having  an  army  and 
a  navy  at  her  disposal,  she  would  endeavor  to  compel 
the  U.  States  to  a  cession  of  it  by  the  destruction  of 
our  commerce,  navy  depots,  commercial  cities  and 
frontier  towns.  These,  with  the  present  disposition  of 
the  military  establishment  of  the  country  constitute  our 
vulnerable  points,  and  of  which  England  would  not  fail 


[98] 

to  take  advantage.  She  would  neither  send  her  armies 
into  our  forests,  nor  into  the  heart  of  the  country,  from 
whence  it  is  not  probable  they  would  return.  She  may, 
however,  threaten  Maine,  from  Quebec,  and  perhaps 
carry  on  a  predatory  warfare,  by  means  of  the  Canada 
road.  To  protect  the  frontier  and  prevent  such  inroads 
upon  the  people,  I  would  establish  a  post  with  two  com 
panies  of  infantry,  near  Moose  river,  with  a  post  of 
observation  on  the  height  of  land  dividing  Maine  from 
Lower  Canada.  The  depot  of  supplies  for  those  posts  I 
would  establish  on  the  south  side  of  Moose  river,  one 
mile  from  the  principal  post.  The  Kennebec  forks  I 
would  designate  as  a  principal  depot  and  place  of  con 
centration  for  the  militia  of  that  section  of  the  country. 

The  heights  surrounding  the  forks  are  well  calculated 
for  defence,  and  would  enable  a  small  force,  well  directed, 
to  hold  a  larger  one  in  check  until  the  militia  of  the 
country  could  be  collected. 

Before  closing  this  part  of  my  report  it  may  not  be 
improper  to  remark,  that  a  road  has  been  cut  out,  but 
not  made,  north  of  the  military  position  selected  near 
Moose  river,  leading  from  the  Canada  road  to  the  head 
of  Moosehead  Lake.  It  has  been  suggested  that  a  mili 
tary  force  from  Quebec  or  Lower  Canada,  might  pene 
trate  Maine  by  that  road  and  Moosehead  lake.  In 
answer  to  which  I  have  only  to  observe  that  no  general, 
who  understood  his  profession,  would  invade  Maine  by 
any  route  destitute  of  forage,  provisions,  or  the  means 
of  transportation.  On  the  contrary,  he  would  take  the 
route  that  would  furnish  the  greatest  amount  of  supplies, 
and  the  greatest  facilities  of  marching  into  the  heart  of 
the  country.  To  take  the  route  referred  to,  he  would 
be  compelled  to  make  roads,  construct  bridges  and  boats, 
and  to  carry  with  him  his  forage,  provisions,  and  the 
means  of  land  transportation.  In  such  a  case,  it  would 


[99] 

require  no  foresight  to  predict  the  result.  He  would 
beyond  all  question  be  defeated,  if  the  people  of  Maine 
were  true  to  themselves,  and  true  to  the  country. 

Deeming  no  other  posts  than  those  above  mentioned 
necessary  for  the  defence  or  protection  of  the  north 
western  frontier  of  Maine,  I  returned  to  Bangor,  leaving 
Major  Graham  and  Lieutenant  Johnson  to  make  the 
required  surveys  and  sketches. 

On  the  16th  of  July,  accompanied  by  his  Excellency 
Edward  Kent,  I  set  out  to  examine  the  eastern  and 
northeastern  frontier  of  the  State. — On  the  17th,  we 
examined  the  military  position  at  Houlton,  which  I  con 
sider  well  calculated  for  the  defence  and  protection  of 
that  region  of  country.  With  proper  works,  and  a  gar 
rison  composed  of  six  companies  of  infantry,  and  two  of 
artillery,  I  do  not  believe  any  attempt  would  be  made 
from  New  Brunswick  to  invade  the  disputed  territory,  or 
by  that  route  to  invade  the  settled  parts  of  Maine.  A 
general  commanding  at  Fredericton,  or  St.  Johns,  with 
a  large  disposable  force,  might  attempt  an  enterprise 
against  the  garrison  at  Houlton,  intercept  its  communi 
cation  with,  and  cut  off  its  retreat  to  Bangor. — This 
might  be  done  by  way  of  Woodstock,  Eel  river,  or  the 
Lakes  Magaguadaweek  and  Chiputnaticook,  or  Grand 
Lake.  From  Woodstock,  through  by  roads,  the  Mili 
tary  road  could  be  reached  five  miles  south  and  in  the 
rear  of  Houlton.  By  Eel  river  and  Dunn's  on  the 
Calais  road,  the  same  point  could  be  reached.  By  the 
lakes  above  mentioned,  and  Butterfield's  on  the  Calais 
road,  the  military  road  could  be  intercepted  by  a  cross 
road,  eight  miles  south  of  the  Mattawamkeag  forks,  and 
about  thirty  eight  miles  south  of  Houlton. 

This  route  will  be  the  shortest  from  Fredericton  and 
in  the  winter  the  easiest  to  be  accomplished.  It  is, 
however,  not  probable  that  in  the  present  wild  state  of 


[100] 

the  country,  no  roads  being  made  except  from  Fredericton 
to  Woodstock,  any  movement  of  the  kind  would  be 
made  with  eight  companies  of  regular  troops  at  Houlton 
and  a  respectable  force  at  Calais.  Such  a  movement  by 
the  British  forces  would  undoubtedly  produce  a  cor 
responding  one  on  the  part  of  the  United  States  troops 
at  Calais,  against  Fredericton  or  St.  Johns,  which,  unless 
the  British  were  in  great  force  at  those  places,  would 
produce  a  recall  of  any  movement  against  Houlton  or 
the  disputed  territory.  No  military  commander  would 
hazard  an  enterprise  against  Houlton  or  the  disputed 
territory,  if  by  such  a  movement  he  could  possibly  lose 
Fredericton  or  St.  Johns  which  would  give  to  the  con 
querors  the  finest  part  of  New  Brunswick. 

To  guard  against  any  movement  as  suggested,  I  would 
recommend  that  a  regiment  of  infantry  and  two  com 
panies  of  artillery  be  stationed  at  Calais,  and  one  com 
pany  of  infantry  and  one  of  artillery  at  Eastport,  with 
posts  of  observation  at  Butterfield's  and  Dunn's  on  the 
Calais  road,  leading  to  Houlton.  From  Calais,  Frederic- 
ton  or  St.  Johns  might  be  reached  in  three  days.  Should 
the  above  recommendations  be  adopted,  I  would  desig 
nate  Calais  as  a  proper  place  for  the  main  depot  of  sup 
plies  and  concentration  of  the  militia  for  the  defence  of 
the  eastern  frontier;  and  the  Mattawamkeag  forks  for 
the  depot  and  concentration  of  the  militia  for  the  defence 
of  the  disputed  territory  and  the  northeastern  frontier. 

In  addition  to  the  above,  I  would  recommend  the 
erection  of  an  arsenal  near  Bangor,  on  the  right  or  left 
bank  of  the  Penobscot.  Also  a  fortification  and  garri 
son  at  the  entrance  of  both  the  Penobscot  and  Kenne- 
bec. 

From  a  statement  received  from  his  excellency  Edward 
Kent,  it  would  appear  that  the  militia  of  Maine  exceeds 
forty -one  thousand. 


[101] 

Of  these,  in  the  course  of  ten  days,  4,500  could  be 
collected  at  the  forks  of  the  Kennebec,  4,000  at  the 
Mattawamkeag  forks,  and  2,500  at  Calais.  In  twenty 
days  there  could  be  12,000  collected  at  the  Kennebec 
forks,  10,000  at  the  Mattawamkeag  forks  and  8,000  at 
Calais. 

The  above  calculation,  however,  is  made  up  on  the 
supposition  that  they  would  be  called  out  as  organized  by 
regiments  and  brigades.  A  draft  would  take  a  longer 
period,  but  the  same  number  of  men  could  be  obtained. 

It  would  also  appear,  from  the  same  statement,  that 
the  State  has  in  depot  9,000  muskets,  2,200  rifles,  350 
pistols,  and  850  swords,  and  a  good  supply  of  equip 
ments,  all  in  good  order  and  fit  for  service.  The  arms 
and  equipments,  however,  in  the  possession  of  the 
militia,  are  generally  small,  and  too  light  for  active  ser 
vice. 

I  am,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient  survent, 

JOHN   E.    WOOL. 
To  the  Hon.  J.  R.  Poinsett, 

Secretary  of  War. 


Fredericton,  Feb.  13,  1839. 

By  His  Excellency  Major  General  Sir  John  Harvey,  K. 
C.  B.  and  K.  C.  H.,  Lieut.  Governor  and  Com 
mander  in  Chief  of  the  Province  of  New  Brunswick, 
etc.  etc.  etc. 

John  Harvey. 

A  PROCLAMATION. 

Whereas,  I  have  received  information  that  a  party  of 
armed  persons  to  the  number  of  two  hundred  or  more, 
have  invaded  a  portion  of  this  province,  under  the  juris 
diction  of  Her  Majesty's  Government,  from  the  neighbor- 


ing  State  of  Maine,  for  the  professed  object  of  exercis 
ing  authority,  and  driving  off  persons  stated  to  be  cut 
ting  therein — and  that  divers  other  persons  have  without 
any  legal  authority,  taken  up  arms  for  the  purpose  of 
resisting  such  invasion  and  outrage,  and  have  broken 
open  certain  stores  in  Woodstock,  in  which  Arms  and 
Ammunition  belonging  to  Her  Majesty  were  deposited, 
and  have  taken  the  same  away  for  that  purpose — I  do 
hereby  charge  and  command  all  persons  concerned  in 
such  illegal  acts,  forthwith  to  return  the  Arms  and 
Ammunition,  so  illegally  taken,  to  their  place  of  deposite, 
as  the  Government  of  the  Province  will  take  care  to 
adopt  all  necessary  measures  for  resisting  any  hostile 
invasion  or  outrage  that  may  be  attempted  upon  any 
part  of  Her  Majesty's  Territory  or  Subjects. 

And  I  do  hereby  charge  and  command  all  Magistrates, 
Sheriffs,  and  other  officers,  to  be  vigilent,  aiding  and 
assisting  in  the  apprehension  of  all  persons  so  offending, 
and  to  bring  them  to  justice,  And  in  order  to  aid  and 
assist  the  Civil  Power  in  that  respect,  if  necessary,  I 
have  ordered  sufficient  Military  Force  to  proceed  forth 
with  to  the  places  where  these  Outrages  are  represented 
to  have  been  committed  as  well  to  prevent  Foreign 
invasion,  as  to  prevent  the  illegal  assumption  of  Arms 
by  her  Majesty's  Subjects  in  this  Province. 

And  further,  in  order  to  be  prepared,  if  necessary  to 
call  in  the  aid  of  the  Constitutional  Militia  Force  of  the 
country.  I  do  hereby  charge  and  command  the  officers 
commanding  the  first  and  second  Battalions  of  the  militia 
of  the  County  of  Carleton,  forthwith  to  proceed  as  the 
Law  directs,  to  the  drafting  of  a  body  of  men,  to  con 
sist  of  one  fourth  of  the  strength  of  each  of  these  battal 
ions,  to  be  in  readiness  for  actual  service,  should  occa 
sion  require. 


[103] 

Given  under  my  Hand  and  Seal  at  Fredericton,  the 
Thirteenth  day  of  February,  in  the  year  of  our 
Lord  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  thirty- 
nine,  and  in  the  second  year  of  Her  Majesty's 
reign. 

By  his  Excellency's  Command. 

WM.    F.    ODELL. 


(Whig  Editorial,  Feb.  6,  1839.) 
THE  AROOSTOOK  EXPEDITION. 

When  we  first  heard  of  the  capture  of  the  Land  Agent 
and  several  others,  and  the  sudden  retreat  of  the  Sheriff 
with  his  posse,  we  supposed  in  common  with  most  of 
our  fellow  citizens  here,  that  this  was  effected  by  a  small 
body  of  trespassers,  who  would  hold  together  only  a  few 
days,  and  that  the  prisoners  would  be  released  after  a 
short  detention — and  that  this  whole  matter  in  the  way 
it  had  been  conducted  and  terminated,  was  a  fair  sub 
ject  of  ridicule,  and  was  treated  accordingly.  It  was  a 
proper  subject  of  game,  which  any  one  had  a  right  to 
hunt  down.  We  wish,  however,  to  be  understood,  that 
we  are  wholly  in  favor  of  the  object  of  this  expedition, 
we  feel  desirous  of  seeing  our  country  protected  and 
jurisdiction  enforced  within  our  territorial  lines  according 
to  the  treaty  of  1783. 

If  the  Provincial  Government  have  interferred  in  this 
matter  by  arresting  and  imprisoning  any  of  our  citizens, 
in  the  rightful  exercise  of  their  legal  duties  within  our 
own  territory,  we  stand  ready  to  shoulder  our  musket 
and  take  our  chance  in  the  front  rank  of  our  militia — 
and  entertain  not  the  slightest  doubt  but  that  the  whole 
body  of  our  citizens  would  rise  as  one  man,  to  defend 
the  territory  purchased  by  the  blood  of  our  fathers. 


[104] 

But  we  have  the  right  to  demand  that  wise  counsellors 
and  energetic  men  shall  move  in  this  business  and  stand 
at  the  head  of  affairs — not  such  brawling  and  noisy 
politicians,  such  weak,  inefficient  and  feather-bed  men  as 
have  recently  been  shoved  forward  into  this  Aroostook 
expedition  and  have  disgraced  it.  We  have  no  desire  to 
throw  the  slightest  obstacle  in  the  way  of  this  affair,  and 
it  gives  us  great  pleasure  to  learn  that  Jonathan  P. 
Rogers,  Esq.  has  been  despatched  by  the  Governor  and 
Council,  to  hold  an  interview  with  Sir  John  Harvey,  in 
reference  to  this  business. 

If  Gov.  Fairfield  had  taken  this  step  in  the  first  place, 
as  Gov.  Kent  did  in  reference  to  the  Boundary  Commis 
sioners,  there  would  have  been  little  or  no  trouble  in 
driving  off  the  trespassers  from  the  disputed  territory. 
But  this,  the  Governor  was  unwilling  to  do,  after  his 
party  had  reviled  and  ridiculed  Gov.  Kent,  in  the  man 
ner  they  have  done,  for  the  course  he  took.  Having 
now  begun  this  business  upon  the  Whig  policy  pursued 
by  Gov.  Kent,  we  cannot  doubt  of  a  successful  issue. 

(Editorial  in  Whig,  Feb.  22,  1839.) 
STEADY. 

Our  State  has  been  for  the  3d  time  invaded  and  our 
citizens  forcibly  arrested,  carried  away  and  incarcerated 
in  a  FOREIGN  JAIL.  The  first  time,  Mr.  Baker  and 
his  neighbors,  next  Mr.  Greely,  and  now  the  Land 
Agent  and  his  assistants.  We  have  remonstrated  and 
entreated  long  enough  and  to  no  purpose.  We  now 
appeal  to  arms.  We  now  appeal  to  the  law  of  nature, 
recognized  by  all  communities,  for  that  protection  which 
has  been  denied  us  by  the  General  Government.  Be  the 
issue  what  it  may,  upon  this  question  the  whole  State  is 
united  to  a  man,  and  will  carry  into  the  conflict  its 


[105] 

undivided  energies.  As  we  are  in  this  city  in  the  midst 
of  a  great  excitement  it  behooves  us  all  to  keep  calm 
and  cool  and  proceed  with  the  utmost  deliberation. 
Expresses  are  passing  every  day  through  this  city  from 
the  Aroostook  and  from  the  Province  to  Augusta  and 
back — our  streets  for  the  last  two  days  have  been  filled 
with  the  busy  preparations  for  the  Aroostook  expedition. 
The  artillery  has  been  forwarded  and  large  quantities  of 
amunition,  provisions,  forage,  etc.  Twenty  men  are 
engaged  at  the  Foundry  casting  balls.  Bodies  of  volun 
teers  from  the  country  are  passing  through  the  city 
hourly,  and  not  less  than  500  are  now  between  this 
place  and  Matawamkeag  Point.  The  draft  of  one  thous 
and  men  has  been  made  in  this  division,  and  they  will  all 
be  on  the  march  to  morrow. 


(Whig  Correspondence.) 

Friday,  9  o'clock.  A.  M. 

AROOSTOOK  EXPEDITION. 

The  remainder  of  the  detachment  have  left  the  city, 
and  somewhat  of  the  intense  excitement  is  abated  which 
has  pervaded  our  own  citizens,  and  the  crowd  of  specta 
tors  which  have  thronged  the  city.  Most  of  the  detach 
ment  left  the  city  yesterday  in  small  squads,  and  this 
arrangement  of  the  march  we  hope  will  secure  comfortable 
and  warm  quarters  to  the  zealous  and  patriotic  Militia. 
Every  aid  will  be  given  by  the  citizens  along  the  line  to 
the  proper  officers,  and  the  men  will  be  received  in  the 
most  kind  and  hospitable  manner.  The  appearance  of 
the  troops  was  such  as  excited  our  surprise  and  admira 
tion.  Coming  together  at  a  moments  notice,  every  man 
seemed  to  be  prepared  for  duty  and  eager  to  reach  the 
scene  of  operations.  The  Commander  in  Chief  ordered,. 


[106] 

we  understand,  a  rendezvous  of  the  force  on  Thursday 
at  10  o'clock,  most  of  which,  we  have  said,  left  town  the 
same  day,  and  the  remainder  this  morning.  The 
promptitude  with  which  the  call  of  the  Commanding 
General  has  been  obeyed  and  the  order  and  enthusiasm 
of  the  troops  and  the  universal  impression  of  the  ability 
and  energy  of  the  Commanding  General,  has  impressed 
the  whole  community  with  a  full  confidence  in  its  success. 

(Editorial  in  Whig,  Feb.  23,  1839.) 
THE  ASSERTION  OF  THE  AGE. 

The  assertion  of  the  Age,  that  we  wished  to  cast 
ridicule  on  the  Aroostook  Expedition,  is  wholly  false. 
We  shall  not  bandy  words  with  a  paper  which  thus 
attempts  to  turn  the  present  crisis  to  political  account. 
We  did  think  it  strange  that  the  person  entrusted  with 
the  command,  should  have  suffered  himself  to  have  been 
taken  in  the  manner  he  was.  We  are  not  opposed  to  the 
Expedition,  and  never  have  been,  and  as  long  as  it  is 
conducted  properly  we  shall  not  utter  a  syllable  against 
it.  The  Whigs  of  the  State  have  but  one  wish,  one 
opinion,  in  regard  to  the  course  to  be  pursued — they  are 
anxious  that  Gov.  Fairfield  should  go  on,  without  falter 
ing  in  the  least ; — we  hope  that  he  will  not,  and  that  the 
State  will  not  retrace  a  single  step,  in  the  position  she 
has  taken.  A  holier  spirit  than  that  of  party,  should 
now  animate  the  people.  The  crisis  demands  the  united 
energy  and  action  of  all  parties,  and  we  doubt  not,  that 
the  one  sentiment,  the  one  feeling,  the  deep  enthusiasm 
which  pervades  every  bosom,  will  continue  thus  universal, 
until  the  rights  of  our  noble  State  are  established  beyond 
a  doubt  and  fully  and  honorably  recognized.  The  honor 
and  interest  of  the  whole  State  must  be  maintained  at 
all  hazards.  We  shall  have  no  fears  of  the  issue  of  the 


[107] 

conflict,  knowing  as  we  do,  that  the  citizens  of  Maine 
will  not  prove  recreant  to  duty,  and  the  obligations  now 
resting  upon  them. 

While  we  would  not  have  the  Whigs,  as  a  party  for 
get  for  a  moment,  the  ancient  landmarks,  of  their  political 
faith,  and  the  strong  grounds  of  their  opposition  to  the 
State  and  National  Administrations, — so  neither  would 
we  have  them,  in  the  least,  abate  in  their  ardor  and 
anxiety  to  bring  our  boundary  rights  to  a  successful 
termination.  Though  we  may  have  occasion,  hereafter, 
to  revert  to  the  conduct  and  management  of  certain 
individuals  at  the  commencement  of  this  interesting 
enterprise,  we  shall  not  be  backward  in  upholding  the 
great  object  which  the  State,  as  one  people,  has  in  view. 
The  present  movement  we  should  regard  as  National, 
and  we  shall  not  be  found  wanting  in  the  bold  mainte 
nance  of  the  honor  and  welfare  of  the  State. 

(Whig  Correspondence.) 
FROM  HOULTON. 

Tuesday,  9  o'clock  A.  M. 

An  express  has  just  arrived  from  the  Aroostook  bring 
ing  the  information  that  our  Land  Agent  has  been  put 
into  close  jail.  Just  look  at  the  contrast.  The  British 
Land  Agent  was  brought  here  in  a  coach  with  four 
horses,  a  prisoner,  carried  to  the  Bangor  House,  and 
invited  to  one  of  the  best  rooms  in  the  House,  and 
received  the  best  of  fare,  while  our  Agent  was  dragged 
on  a  horse  sled  to  Frederickton  and  incarcerated  within 
the  walls  of  a  prison.  Should  not  such  treatment  cause 
the  blood  of  every  American  to  boil  with  indignation? 

11  o'clock  A.  M. 

The  Augusta  Light  Infantry  Company  has  just  arrived 
in  this  city. 


[108] 

(Whig  Correspondence.) 

Saturday,  5  o'clock,  P.  M. 

A  company  of  Cavalry,  consisting  of  48  men.  have 
just  arrived  in  this  city  from  Waldo  county. 

We  have  just  seen  a  gentleman  who  left  the  Aroostook 
on  Thursday.  The  volunteers  have  erected  a  fort  with 
logs,  and  have  five  field  pieces  mounted.  They  were  all 
in  fine  spirits.  The  Waldo  volunteers,  the  Piscataquis 
volunteers,  and  the  Brewer  volunteers,  arrived  at  No.  4, 
about  36  miles  this  side  of  the  camp  on  Thursday  night. 
The  Bangor  Artillery  and  Dexter  Artillery  arrived  at 
Lincoln  on  Friday  night,  and  the  Dexter  Rifle  corps  were 
about  5  miles  this  side  of  Lincoln  on  Saturday  morning. 

Four  of  the  British  Regular  troops,  deserters  from  the 
Provinces,  arrived  at  Lincoln  on  Friday  night.  Deser 
tions  are  taking  place  daily,  and  some  of  these  liberty- 
loving  fellows  have  already  enlisted  in  one  of  the  com 
panies  of  the  3d  Division.  The  "stars  and  stripes" 
will  coax  many  of  her  Majesty's  subjects  to  their  ample 
folds. 

GOVERNOR  FAIRFIELD'S  ADDRESS  TO  TROOPS. 

Fellow  Soldiers : — An  unfounded,  unjust,  and  insult 
ing  claim  of  title  has  been  made  by  the  British  Govern 
ment  to  more  than  one- third  of  the  whole  territory  of 
your  State.  More  than  this,  it  insists  upon  having 
exclusive  jurisdiction  and  possession  until  its  claims  of 
title  is  settled — while  in  the  meantime  its  subjects  are 
stripping  this  territory  of  its  valuable  growth  of  timber, 
in  defiance  of  your  authority  and  your  power.  A  few 
days  since  you  sent  a  civil  force  under  your  Land  Agent, 
to  drive  off  these  bands  of  armed  plunderers  and  protect 
your  property  from  their  work  of  devastation.  But  the 
Agent  while  employed  in  the  performance  of  this  duty, 


[109] 

with  two  of  his  assistants,  were  seized,  transported 
beyond  the  bounds  of  the  State,  and  incarcerated  in  a 
foreign  jail  under  British  authorities.  Those  who  remain 
are  threatened  with  a  forcible  expulsion  by  British 
troops,  if  they  do  not  immediately  leave  the  territory 
and  abandon  your  property  to  proffered  protection  of 
Her  Majesty's  Lieutenant  Governor.  And  perhaps 
before  this  moment,  your  soil  has  not  only  been  polluted 
by  the  invader's  footsteps,  but  the  blood  of  our  citizens 
may  have  been  shed  by  British  Myrmidons. 

The  Age  states  that  part  of  the  detachment  left  for 
the  frontier  on  Wednesday,  and  the  remainder  on  Thurs 
day  morning. 

(From  Maine  Newspapers,  1839.) 
THE  SOLDIERS  SONG. 

Tune— Auld  Lang  Syne. 

We  are  marching  on  to  Madawask, 
To  fight  the  trespassers; 
We'll  teach  the  British  how  to  walk— 
And  come  off  conquerors. 

We'll  have  our  land  right  good  and  clear, 
For  all  the  English  say; 
They  shall  not  cut  another  log, 
Nor  stay  another  day. 

They  need  not  think  to  have  our  land, 
We  Yankees  can  fight  well; 
We've  whipped  them  twice  most  manfully, 
As  every  child  can  tell. 

And  if  the  Tyrants  say  one  word, 
A  third  time  we  will  show, 
How  high  the  Yankee  spirit  runs, 
And  what  our  guns  can  do. 

They  better  much  all  stay  at  home, 
And  mind  their  business  there; 
The  way  we  treated  them  before, 
Made  all  the  Nations  stare. 


[HO] 

Come  on!    brace  fellows,  one  and  all! 
The  Red-coats  ne'er  shall  say, 
We  Yankees,  feared  to  meet  them  armed, 
So  gave  our  land  away. 

We'll  feed  them  well  with  ball  and  shot. 
We'll  cut  these  Red-coats  down, 
Before  we  yield  to  them  an  inch 
Or  title  of  our  ground. 

Ye  Husbands,  Fathers,  Brothers,  Sons, 
From  every  quarter  come! 
March,  to  the  bugle  and- the  fife! 
March,  to  the  beating  drum! 

Onward!    my  Lads  so  brave  and  true 
Our  Country's  right  demands 
With  justice,  and  with  glory  fight, 
For  these  Aroostook  lands. 


Bangor,  Feb.  21,  1839. 


(From  Maine  Newspapers,  1839.) 
MAINE  BATTLE  SONG. 

Come,  sogers!  take  your  muskets  up, 

And  grasp  your  faithful  rifles; 
We're  going  to  lick  the  red  coat  men, 

Who  call  us  yankees,  "trifles." 
Bring  out  the  big  gun  made  of  brass, 

Which  forges  July  thunder; 
Bring  out  the  flag  of  Bennington, 

And  strike  the  foe  with  wonder. 

We'll  lick  the  red  coats  any  how, 

And  drive  them  from  our  border; 
The  loggers  are  awake — and  all 

Await  the  Gin'rals  order; 
Britannia  shall  not  rule  the  Maine, 

Nor  shall  she  rule  the  water; 
They've  sung  that  song  full  long  enough, 

Much  longer  than  they  oughter. 

The  Aroostook's  right  slick  stream, 
Has  nation  sights  of  woodlands, 

And  hang  the  feller  that  would  lose 
His  footing  on  such  good  lands. 


[Ill] 

And  all  along  the  boundary  line 
There's  pasturing  for  cattle; 

But  where  that  line  of  boundary  is, 
We  must  decide  by  battle. 

We  do  not  care  about  the  land, 

But  they  shan't  hook  it  from  us; 

Our  country,  right  or  wrong,  we  cry- 
No  budging  or  compromise. 

So — beat  the  sheepskin  blow  the  fife, 
And  march  in  training  order; 

Our  wave  is  through  the  wilderness, 
And  all  along  the  border. 


Head  Quarters,  Eastern  Division,  ) 

United  States,   Army,     > 

Augusta,  Me.  March  21,  1839.         ) 

The  undersigned,  a  Major  General  in  the  Army  of 
the  United  States  being  specially  charged  with  maintain 
ing  the  peace  and  safety  of  their  entire  Northern  and 
Eastern  Frontiers,  having  cause  to  apprehend  a  collision 
of  arms  between  the  proximate  forces  of  New  Brunswick 
and  the  State  of  Maine  on  the  disputed  territory  which 
is  claimed  by  both,  has  the  honor,  in  the  sincere  desire 
of  the  United  States  to  preserve  the  relations  of  peace 
and  amity  with  Great  Britain — relations  which  might  be 
much  endangered  by  such  untoward  collison — to  invite 
from  His  Excellency  Major  General  Sir  John  Harvey, 
Lieutenant  Governor,  etc.  etc., — a  general  declaration 
to  this  effect. 

That  it  is  not  the  intention  of  the  Lieutenant  Gov 
ernor  of  Her  Brittannic  Majesty's  Province  of  New 
Brunswick,  under  the  expected  renewal  of  negociations 
between  the  Cabinets  of  London  and  Washington  on  the 
subject  of  the  said  disputed  territory,  without  renewed 
instructions  to  that  effect  from  his  Government,  to  seek 
to  take  the  Military  possession  of  that  territory,  or  to 


[112] 

seek  to  expel  therefrom    the  armed  Civil  posse,  or  the 
troops  of  Maine. 

Should  the  undersigned  have  the  honor  to  be  favored 
with  such  declaration  or  assurance  to  be  by  him  com 
municated  to  his  Excellency  the  Governor  of  the  State 
of  Maine,  the  undersigned  does  not  in  the  least  doubt 
that  he  would  be  immediately  and  fully  authorized  by 
the  Governor  of  Maine  to  communicate  to  his  Excellency, 
the  Lieutenant  Governor  of  New  Brunswick  a  corre 
sponding  pacific  declaration  to  this  effect:— 

That  in  the  hope  of  a  speedy  and  satisfactory  settle 
ment,  by  negociation  between  the  Governments  of  the 
United  States  and  Great  Britain  of  the  principal  or 
boundary  question  between  the  State  of  Maine  and  the 
Province  of  New  Brunswick,  it  is  not  the  intention  of 
the  Governor  of  Maine,  without  renewed  instructions 
from  the  Legislature  of  the  State,  to  attempt  to  disturb 
by  arms,  the  said  Province  in  the  possession  of  the 
Madawaska  settlements,  or  to  attempt  to  interrupt  the 
usual  communications  between  that  Province  and  Her 
Majesty's  Upper  Provinces;  and  that  he  is  willing  in  the 
mean  time,  to  leave  the  question  of  possession  and  juris 
diction  as  they  at  present  stand;  that  is,  Great  Britain, 
holding,  in  fact,  possession  of  a  part  of  the  said  territory 
and  the  Government  of  Maine  denying  her  right  to  such 
possession ;  and  the  State  of  Maine  holding,  in  fact, 
possession  of  another  portion  of  the  same  territory  to 
which  her  right  is  denied  by  Great  Britain. 

With  this  understanding  the  Governor  of  Maine  will, 
without  unnecessary  delay,  withdraw  the  Military  force 
of  the  State  from  the  said  disputed  territory — leaving 
only,  under  a  Land  Agent,  a  small  civil  posse,  armed 
or  unarmed,  to  protect  the  timber  recently  cut,  and  to 
prevent  future  depredations. 


[113] 

Reciprocal  assurance  of  the  foregoing  friendly  char 
acter  having  been,  through  the  undersigned,  inter 
changed,  all  danger  of  collision  between  the  immediate 
parties  to  the  controversy  will  be  at  once  removed,  and 
time  allowed  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain  to 
settle  amicably  the  great  question  of  limits. 

The  undersigned  has  much  pleasure  in  renewing  to 
His  Excellency,  Major  General  Sir  John  Harvey  the 
assurances  of  his  ancient  high  consideration  and  respect. 

WINFIELD  SCOTT. 

To  a  copy  of  the  foregoing,  Sir  John  Harvey  annexed 
the  following : — 

The  undersigned,  Major  General  Sir  John  Harvey, 
Lieutenant  Governor  of  Her  Britannic  Majesty's  Province 
of  New  Brunswick,  having  received  a  proposition  from 
Major  General  Winfield  Scott  of  the  United  States 
Army,  of  which  the  foregoing  is  a  copy,  hereby,  on  his 
part,  signifies  his  concurrence  and  acquiescence  therein. 

Sir  John  Harvey  renews  with  great  pleasure  to  Major 
General  Scott,  the  assurance  of  his  warmest  personal 
consideration,  regard  and  respect. 

J.   HARVEY. 

Government  House,  Fredericton, 

New  Brunswick,  March  23,  1839. 

To  a  paper  containing  the  note  of  General  Scott, 
and  the  acceptance  of  Sir  John  Harvey,  Governor 
Fairfield  annexed  his  acceptance  in  these  words : 

Executive  Department,  \ 

Augusta,  March  25,  1839.  [ 

The  undersigned,  Governor  of  Maine,  in  consideration 
of  the  foregoing,  the  exigency  for  calling  out  the  troops 
of  Maine  have  ceased,  has  no  hesitation  in  signifying  his 
entire  acquiescence  in  the  proposition  of  Major  General 
Scott. 


[114] 

The  undersigned  has  the  honor  to  tender  to  Major 
General  Scott  the  assurance  of  his  high  respect  and 
esteem. 

JOHN   FAIRFIELD. 


(From  Bangor  Whig,  April  12,  1839.) 
THE  SOLDIER'S  RETURN. 

On  Wednesday  evening,  about  6  o'clock,  the  Bangor 
Independent  Volunteers  marched  into  the  city,  under 
command  of  Lieut.  Dunning,  on  their  return  from  the 
Aroostook.  The  Company  numbered  about  fifty,  princi 
pally  young  men,  who  are  known  as  among  the  most 
respectable  and  enterprising  of  the  city.  We  were 
rejoiced  to  preceive  so  much  interest  and  spirit  mani 
fested  at  their  return.  They  marched  with  a  firm  and 
elastic  step,  to  the  tune  of  Home !  Sweet  Home !  The 
appropriateness  of  the  music  to  the  ocassion,  excited  one 
common  impulse  of  satisfaction.  We  have  rarely  known 
an  instance  which  appealed  so  directly  to  the  heart. 

Tuesday  evening,  the  Hancock  Guards,  a  rifle  com 
pany,  under  command  of  Capt.  Wing,  arrived,  also. 
This  is  a  fine  company,  from  Castine  and  Bluehill.  They 
were  furnished  for  the  campaign  with  Hall's  Patent 
Rifles. 

The  appearance  and  bearing  of  these  Companies  do 
honor  to  the  Militia  of  the  State,  and  to  their  com 
mander,  Gen.  Hodsdon.  They  have  discipline  and  skill, 
almost  equal  to  regular  troops  and  perform  the  duties  of 
the  soldier  in  a  manner  deserving  great  praise.  Let 
those  who  have  been  induced  to  speak  lightly  of  the 
militia  system,  view  these  men  and  ask  themselves, 
where  else  they  would  look  for  defence  of  our  country 
against  foreign  aggression.  And  who  are  the  men  who 


[115] 

deserve  sympathy  and  respect,  if  not  those  who  so 
willingly  have  borne  the  hardships  and  privations  of  a 
winter  campaign  exposed  to  all  the  fatigues  they  are 
called  upon  to  endure. 

Gen.  Hodsdon,  a  few  days  ago,  ordered  Col.  Stevens  to 
Bangor,  to  cause  temporary  Barracks  to  be  erected  on 
Thomas's  Hill  for  the  accommodation  of  the  troops  on 
their  return.  They  will  rendezvous  at  this  place  and  be 
paid  off  as  fast  as  may  be  convenient.  It  will  however, 
be  a  work  of  several  days.  The  men  were  principally 
supplied  with  arms  by  the  State,  and  their  old  guns  will 
be  returned  to  them  when  the  State's  arms  are  surrended. 
As  the  troops  will  come  in  by  companies  or  small  detach 
ments,  some  days  must  necessarily  elapse,  before  they 
can  be  paid  off  and  disbanded. 

We  think  Gen.  Hodsdon  deserves  much  praise  for  his 
forethought  in  this  matter.  We  all  recollect  the  incon 
venience  of  quartering  600  men  under  Gen.  Bachelder's 
command  in  the  midst  of  the  city.  Besides,  these 
soldiers  deserve  better  treatment,  after  their  long  march 
through  the  mud,  than  to  be  crowded  in  large  companies 
of  50  or  60  men,  into  a  room  or  two,  15  by  18,  at  this 
season  of  the  year.  We  suppose  they  will  be  reviewed 
here  by  Gen.  Hodsdon,  and  our  citizens  gratified  by  a 
display  of  their  military  discipline. 


LETTER  EROM  JAMES  SULLIVAN. 

Scoodiac  Falls,  Sept'r  29th,  1796. 
Brother : 

I  came  here  with  a  hope  to  see  you — I  am 
agent  for  the  United  States  to  appear  before  men  who 
are  appointed  to  find  the  river  the  United  States  and  the 
King  called  St.  Croix  when  the  States  became  a  great 


[116] 

nation.  The  men  who  are  come  and  coming,  want  to 
hear  what  your  old  men  can  tell  them  truly  on  that 
question.  I  invite  you  to  come  before  them  with  three 
or  four  of  your  old  men  at  St.  Andrews  on  friday  the 
next  week.  I  want  you  to  tell  them  what  is  there 
and  I  will  pay  you  for  your  time  what  ever  is  right — 
Brother : 

You  know  that  the  United  States  is  your 
friend — you  know  that  Massachusetts  considers  your 
tribe  as  her  children  and  you  will  not  be  unwilling  to 
come  at  their  call  to  tell  the  truth. 

I  am  your  Brother 

JAMES  SULLIVAN. 

To  Francis  Joseph  Governor  the 
Passimaquody  Indians. 


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